


Back In The Day

by Salrose



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 1950s, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Chief Daniel Sousa Amirite?, Endgame References, F/M, M/M, Stuck in time, Time Travel, trying to make sense of Endgame
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:41:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 27,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26052862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salrose/pseuds/Salrose
Summary: Daisy gets stuck in the 1955 and has to take on the Chromicoms herself but gets help from Chief Daniel Sousa.
Relationships: (Past) Peggy Carter/ Daniel Sousa, Ana Jarvis/Edwin Jarvis, Daniel Sousa & Edwin Jarvis, Daniel Sousa & Howard Stark, Howard Stark/Jason Wilkes, Peggy Carter & Daniel Sousa, Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Skye | Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa
Comments: 36
Kudos: 126





	1. Who The Hell Are You?

**Author's Note:**

> This is very loosely based on 7×03. So confession time I haven't actually seen the whole episode. I seen a few scenes and some scenes a bunch of times. Anyway, forgive me for any technicalities that doesn't fit with season 7. It's a what if Daisy gets left behind and goes it's own way canon divergence fic and anything about the Chromicoms I'm making up to fit with the story. I hope you enjoy it anyway.
> 
> I took the title from the song Back In The Day by Christina Aguilera.
> 
> Moodboard by Joyfulphoenix  
> Beta Read by Joyfulphoenix  
> Thanks Sis!

* * *

Daisy could not sit and wait for the Zephyr to come back. It had jumped and left her behind. Who knew what time they would come back? However, it didn't change anything. She had a job to do and she was going to do it. The Chromicoms were still here hiding at this Area 51 Shield base. If younger her knew she would end up at Area 51 she would squeal of excitement. Now it was kind of a headache. The plan was to find the Chromicoms in Area 51 but now she had to do it somehow without Coulson and Simmons. _No problem._ Jemma's brilliant idea was to pretend to be Peggy Carter, but Daisy couldn't just do that. Even if no one on this base ever saw Peggy before, her English accent was terrible. So she had to figure something else out.

Daisy looked around the perimeter at the guards that were at all of the entry points. She focused her tremors on the ground around the guards, trying to be very subtle about it and did just enough quaking to knock out the guards on one entry point without informing other guards. She then snuck in. Daisy was all on her own now. Which was fine, she could handle herself. She had a plan. She would sneak into the file room and look at all of the employee's files and see who fit the Chromicom profile.

As she continued to sneak in, Daisy noticed how every inch of the compound was heavily guarded. All of the conspiracy theorist posts were right about calling this place one of the most secure places in the world. Conspiracy theory her would _so_ geek out right now, but now she didn't have time for that or she would be caught. She then waved her hands, causing a bunch of papers, boxes, and equipment to fly everywhere, making the guards go investigate. Daisy smiled, pleased with herself. Quake distraction approach worked every time.

She then sneaked into the file room and felt the vibrations surrounding the locks to unlock the door. After she went through the files, Daisy searched for irregularities, something that screamed "I'm an evil alien robot with knowledge of the future". She then turned to see the biggest computer she had ever seen. Daisy blinked. Man she so appreciated the time period she was born in. At least there wouldn't be any firewalls in the 1950's, only files that had code words on them that she didn't get.

As Daisy searched she found the "hidden files" on an investigation. It wasn't on a weird occurrence, but an investigation on moles within Shield. She searched who was doing the investigating and saw that it was done by no other than Chief Daniel Sousa. Her eyes widened at the name. He was a legend in Shield. He was the first star on the wall of remembrance of fallen Shield agents. When she first started at Shield, Coulson had her read all of the stories on the fallen Shield agents, and consequently she read all about Agent Daniel Sousa. He was Agent Peggy Carter's partner before Shield was even Shield and instead the SSR. He was a crucial part of building Shield. And it looked like she was going to have to meet him.

Daisy smiled to herself, Coulson would _so_ fanboy right now. She bit her lip, actually feeling excited to meet him. She just reminded herself what Mack kept on saying, _ripples not waves_. Daisy had to be careful to make sure she didn't make any waves.

****

Daniel was irritated as he arrived at the base. Something happened. He had guards knocked out as well as important documents and equipment scattered everywhere, with no clue what caused it. He had his scientists do an inventory of all of the objects and possible 084's that could do this. They couldn't come up with anything. So from the looks of it the most secured facility in the west coast had been infiltrated, which pissed him off. Especially since he had already came back here in a bad mood.

He had just came back from New York in a meeting with Howard, who had been extra annoying this time, more then his kind of endearingly pompous ass annoying self. It had to do with the fact that Steve Rogers was back from the ice. It was a miraculous recovery. He was happy for the guy he really was and for Peggy, but it didn't mean that it didn't ache. Not only was the love of his life moving on, but with her lost love who died. Who Daniel had always felt compared to and not being able to live up to. After all, how could he compare to Captain America?

Sousa shook himself out of it. He couldn't think of that now. Peggy was trying to keep Steve's recovery on the down low. While they _were_ experts at secrets and cover ups, he still didn't know how they were going to keep it up.

But that was none of his business. 

It wasn't like Steve showed up when they were together. Daniel tried to make it work with Peggy years ago, but it didn't take. They both had responsibilities on different coasts to manage. The whole saving the world and greater good always got in the way. They had big problems to manage and to take care of.

Besides, Sousa liked his job. He liked protecting people and having enough power and authority to make sure important things got done, but lately he was missing _it_. He missed his SSR days. He missed being wowed by all of the crazy things he would encounter. He missed being on a team and discovering out-of-this-world things together. Of course he missed Peggy and what they used to be. Or what they could have been. He missed Thompson and how full of it he was.

But Daniel just had to forget about it. He had more important things to deal with. Like the fact that it looked like his suspicions about Hydra infiltrating Shield seemed to be coming true. This weirdness had Hydra written all over it. They could be onto him and his investigation, so he had to figure it out.

At that thought, he opened his office door and saw a woman sitting at his desk like she owned it.

"Who the hell are you?"

***

Daisy looked up from the file that she was reading on his desk, and got up all casually like someone interrupted her lunch and not like she had just been caught red handed in the Chief's office going through his desk. She took her glasses off and looked at him. May had taught her how to remain calm and collected even when things felt particularly intense.

This wasn't one of those intense moments though. This moment she was excited about. She looked up at Chief Daniel Sousa, and _damn_ his pictures did not do him justice.

She then replied smoothly, "Who I am is on a need to know basis."

He angrily pointed at his office door that said 'Chief Daniel Sousa' and yelled, "I need to know!"

Daisy didn't let it faze her. "No you don't. Because I don't exist and we never met. Now can you shut the door, please?"

He closed the door and walked towards her, "Not to be rude, but it's been one of those days so produce some credentials or I'll put you in handcuffs."

She smiled giving him her best coy smile. 

She showed him her fake ID and said, "I should tell you that's not my real name. My initials are C, I, and A if you catch my drift."

He furrowed his brow. He glanced at her and gave her a bemused look and said, "Subtle but yeah. So you won't mind if I call your bosses Foggy Bottom to verify, would you?"

Daisy tried to hide her fear of him catching her in her lie. She needed to play it cool and smooth. She needed to think of something to deter him from calling the CIA head quarters and getting caught. Then she thought about the files on his investigation on Shield infiltrators. It occurred to her she knew just what string to dangle in front of him that looked like he would pull on. 

"Go right ahead but then it would kind of blow my cover and my investigation." Daisy said.

"Your investigation? Into what?" He asked while he raised his eyebrows. 

"Hydra." She shrugged nonchalantly, like she was talking about the weather.

His eyes widened at her. She watched him carefully not sure if she went too far. She could be way off with her assumption that his investigation into Shield infiltrators meant that he had suspected Hydra. 

"So you got my reports?" He asked. 

"We did." She answered simply. 

"And?" He asked. 

"And that is why I am here. I am here to find Hydra sleeper agents in this facility." Daisy said. 

He looked at her with a quizzical look on his face.

Then a look of relief.

"Finally, it's about time I got some help on this. I was starting to think I was crazy."

"Nope. That you are not. So I will need access to your personnel to root them out."

"You think there are Hydra agents in this facility?" He asked surprised.

"I think they might very well be everywhere."

"Okay, then, I will just verify with your bosses." He said as he was about to pick up the phone.

"When I say everywhere I mean everywhere. That includes in the CIA. It's best to keep this mission covert and off the books."

He pursed his lips and stared at her long and hard for a minute and then he asked, "Why should I trust you when I can't verify who you are? It sounds like a spy trick to me."

He stared at her. 

"I am a spy." She admitted.

"How do I know you are not a spy for the enemy?" He asked while looking at her intently filled with intrigue, suspicion, and something else she couldn't quite decipher.

She looked up at him and walked closer to him, getting inches away from his face, and gave him a sweet smile.

"You don't. You're just going to have to take a leap of faith. Or you can arrest me and your chance to find the proof you have been so desperately seeking will vanish right through your fingers." Daisy said. 

Daisy rubbed her thumb and her fingers together to finish her point.

He swallowed hard a moment and backed away getting some distance between them.

He gazed at her for a long moment weighing his options. She actually got nervous for a moment not sure what he would do. 

"I guess a leap of faith it is. So who do you suspect?" Sousa asked.

She couldn't show her relief on her face but inwardly she was so relieved that this actually worked.

"I'll need to see your scientists and interview them." Daisy said.

"All of them?" Sousa asked.

"No stone unturned." Daisy said and then she pursed her lips together.

He nodded before turning to open the door for her. "Right this way."

Daisy went through it with a small smile on her face. Pleased with herself. This was going rather well. 

*****

Daniel led this mysterious intriguing woman to an interrogation room where they would meet with all of the Scientists. He couldn't help but feel her presence. 

She followed Chief Sousa to the Scientists. He handed her the list of all of his employees.

"They all have been deeply vetted. I personally did that. Do you think I missed something?" Daniel asked.

"You never know. People have a way of keeping their secrets." She said.

"Oh I know. I wouldn't be working here if I didn't know all about secrets." Daniel reminded her.

"Of course."

"So what do you think you can uncover with one conversation?" He asked.

"I have my ways." She told him with a sly smile. 

He smiled back at her. "I bet you do. I hope it works."

Then he tightened his hand on his cane. 

"I'll let you know." She said hinting for him to let her do interviews on her own.

Sousa looked at her searchingly, "Oh you want me to leave for you to do this on your own?"

She nodded.

"Not a chance. I am in charge of this facility and I'm not going to leave it to a beautiful woman I just met." 

She smiled at him.

"Do you have something against beautiful women?" She asked.

"No offense Ma'am, but we just met. I haven't seen your credentials. There is nothing to verify you are who you say you are and you haven't even given me your actual name." He reminded her.

"It's Daisy Johnson and I am here to help. We are on the same side." She reassured him.

"I work in a clandestine organization trust doesn't come easy." Daniel said.

"I get that." Daisy said.

"Good so you will get it, if I sit on these interviews." He said giving her a smirk. 

Daisy gave him a tight smile and said, "Of course." 

He went to a man in a uniform and told him, "Send the first scientist in."

"Yes sir." 

*****

Daisy asked interesting questions. Some of the questions were quite odd. He didn't know what her strategy was, but it seemed to be something more to it. Daniel had the heavy suspicion that there was more to her then she let on. But she was right. If he had a chance to get proof that Hydra had infiltrated Shield he would take it. If he were being honest with himself, he had been chasing the shadows of Hydra for years. His suspensions about Hydra still being around first started with Jack Thompson's death. There was no proof just trickles of things that didn't add up. The whole case was tied up in a nice bow. It was too nice for his taste. Now here he was years later and just the thought of proof made him pull right on the carrot. He hoped she was for real. It would really suck if she turned out to be a Black Widow like Violet. She did have Femme Fatal written all over her, but she also had a goodness quality to her. He really hoped that sincerity in her eyes were for real. 

Agent Johnson intrigued him. Now _she_ was a mystery he would like to uncover. However, he would not allow himself to get distracted. 

After she finished the interviews Daniel asked her, "Well?" 

"Well. How well do you know your employees, Chief Sousa?" Daisy asked.

Daniel thought about it for a moment.

"I know what their working on, their former employers, and anything that is pertinent." Daniel responded.

"Pertinent?" Daisy asked.

"Important information that could affect their work." Daniel clarified.

"How about their characteristics and how they act?" Daisy asked.

"Of course." Daniel said.

"So would you notice if any of them would be acting out of character?" Daisy asked.

"Yes, I believe I would." Daniel said.

"So what did you notice about them in the interview? Were any of them out of character?" Daisy asked.

"They all seemed pretty frazzled by your peculiar questions." Daniel voiced his observations.

"Anyone stand out to you?" Daisy asked.

He thought about it for a long moment. 

"Perhaps Agent Debra Jones. She didn't have the tick on her right hand as she usually did when she was nervous." 

Daisy looked at her notes. 

"She answered the questions smoothly without any agitation." Daisy said.

"Perhaps, she is a little too perfect and well put together like she knew what to expect or exactly what to say like she was prepared." Daniel said.

"Yeah. She did a good job blending in, but her perfect answers were robotic." Daisy said. 

"Robotic?" Daniel asked confused.

"You know. Too good to be true." Daisy explained.

He had a hard time keeping up with the new sayings the younger generation were saying these days. 

"Right." Daniel said. 

"Are there any others who answered perfectly?" Daniel asked.

"Yes. How do you think Joe Kincaid did?"

"Oh he didn't do too different. He is one of our top scientists. He is brilliant but doesn't do well with one on one conversations."

"I know the type."

"Yeah."

"So do you think he would have fumbled with personal questions?"

"Yes he would but he does have a way to memorize things and he is a good guy. I can vouch for him."

"Chief Sousa, the infiltrators can be anyone even people you know and respect." Daisy reminded him. 

Daniel shook his head. He went through the list. "I'll call those who answered perfectly back in."

"I'll go with you." 

"Of course."

****

It turned out all of the suspects were working in the same spot. 

"Well isn't this convenient?" Daisy asked.

Sousa frowned, "Somehow I don't think it's a coincidence."

Suddenly, all of the Scientists came at them. Sousa used his cane to hit one in the stomach. The man in the lab coat and glasses went after him. Daisy dropped kick the other one. Then she punched the other one. Sousa looked at her then used his cane to knock one down, but he came back up a second later. Daisy looked at him impressed at how many different ways he used his cane to hurt them. Then he used his walkie-talkie and yelled, "I need back up at the West Lab pronto." 

The man who was fighting him took that opportunity to slam Daniel against the wall.

Daisy hurried to them. "May I cut in?" She asked before punching the attacker.

Sousa gave her a grateful nod. "Thanks."

"Not a problem."

Then he used his cane to trip another one who was after Daisy.

"Look Chief, I think it's best that you get that back up." Daisy said.

Daniel looked at her. But before he could say anything, she slammed two of attackers together. Then she did a flip backwards to kick another from behind.

He looked at her in awe. "Wow. I'll be back with back up. If you need it." 

"Go!" She yelled as two more went at her. 

After he left the lab, she jumped and used her Quaking power to vibrate the whole room, causing all of them to fall.

Sousa came back with the backup to the sight of all of them unconscious on the floor. 

"So you didn't need it."

"Someone has to be the clean up." Daisy said with a sheepish smile.

He out a light chuckle. "I bet the CIA love you."

She tilted her head and shrugged her shoulders. 

He got his walkie-talkie and said, "I need medical at the West Lab immediately. I need six stretchers and clear the Examination Wing. "

Then he looked to Daisy and asked, "Do you think that is all of them?"

"I'm pretty sure that is all that are here. But there were more I was tailing. The others could be at another facility."

Sousa nodded. "Well, I will alert all of my security about them." 

Daisy took that in. She knew these were all of the Chromicoms in this facility, but there were more out there. 

She felt the vibrations inside the Chromicoms. They were dead or whatever it was called when evil space robots stopped functioning all together. She needed to get them out of here before the medical team started examining them. She also needed to get out of here before she caused waves instead of ripples. After all, Daisy had realized that Daniel Sousa was supposed to die soon.

In the Shield history books, the Russians killed him when he had been delivering a weapon. Giving the nature of his investigation, she realized it was likely that Hydra had him killed. They saved Mallick so that Chromicoms wouldn't mess with history. If she warned Sousa, he could forever change history. That would be a wave. Honestly, wouldn't the world be better off without Hydra being so deep in Shield? But, she promised Mack _ripples not waves_. Which meant that Chief Daniel Sousa, a good man, was meant to die.

Daisy had to get out of here before she changed her mind. Besides there were more Chromicoms out there. She looked around and saw alarms. She felt their vibrations and moved her hands down, discreetly pushing the vibrations to quake around the alarms which caused the alarms to go off. All of the guards left the surrounding area.

Sousa took the the walkie-talkie and yelled, "Check all of the exits. Make sure everything is secure."

Then he turned to her. "Stay with me. Their friends could be here and might be causing a distraction so they can rescue them in the chaos."

"Right."

Man, Daniel Sousa was good. Too good. Not much got passed him. He was smart, quick thinking, and very capable. Which made him extremely difficult to fool. No wonder he made it to Chief of the Shield's west coast. This wasn't going to work. She needed to think of something else out and quick.

"It's all clear sir." The voice on the walkie-talkie said.

"Good. Check the alarms find out how it got triggered. It could be a trick." Sousa ordered.

"Yes sir." The voice answered.

"Agent Johnson. Let's leave the rest to the medical. Come back to my office for the debrief." Sousa told her.

"Of course." Daisy replied, following him. She then looked around the hall and saw all of the guards going back to their posts. "You run quite a tight ship here." She told him, with an admiring tone.

"It has to be that way. We are guarding some high security secrets here." 

She nodded. "Of course." 

Once they reached his office, Sousa closed the door behind him and asked, "So, are you sure those are all of them in this facility?" 

"It looks that way." She casually answered while taking a seat on the chair across from his desk.

"Good. I am going to need you to write the report." He told her as he sat in his chair behind his desk.

"Report? I don't work for you Chief." Daisy folded her arms, raising her eyebrows in confusion.

"But you collaborated with me. I need to send this to my superiors. This is something I have been investigating for a long time. I went to my direct supervisor Mallick. But now I think it's time to finally give my information to the East Coast."

"Mallick?" She asked alarmed. "As in Freddy Mallick?"

"I know him more as Wilfred but yes." Sousa then gave her a confused look. "What's wrong with him?"

She straightened her seat. "He's high on our Hydra suspect list."

_"Mallick?_ But he's my boss." Sousa said alarmed.

"Sorry."

"How deep does this infiltration go?" He asked with his eyes widened in shock.

"Deep."

Sousa pressed his left temple. "I better contact Peggy."

"Peggy?" Daisy asked.

He looked at her for a moment. "Director Peggy Carter. If Hydra goes this deep she needs to know."

He picked up the phone.

Daisy stood up besides him and the took the phone from him and slammed it down.

"That's not safe." Daisy said firmly.

"Don't worry we speak in code over the phone. We've been at this spy game for a while." He said trying to reassure her.

Daisy couldn't think of another excuse. Other then 'you can't tell anyone else about Hydra because it will completely change history'. If he got his old partner's help maybe he wouldn't die. Or maybe she would die too.There was no way for sure to tell what would happen. 

"It's still dangerous bringing someone else into this."Daisy said trying to convey the urgency in her voice.

"Believe me Peggy Carter can handle herself." Sousa said.

"I'm sure she can but..." Daisy began to say.

"Why don't you really want me to call?" He asked, giving her a suspicious look.

Daisy sighed and sat down in the chair again. "I just think it's best to keep this investigation to ourselves."

He sighed and said, "Okay, then give me everything you have on Mallick. What proof do you have he's Hydra?"

"Nothing I can share." Daisy said.

"Okay then it looks we are not on this case together. You got the infiltrators you were looking for and you don't have any more information to give me. I guess you can see yourself out." Sousa said in a stern voice.

Daisy took in a big intake of breath before saying, "I'm from the future. I'm an Agent of Shield from the future."

He looked at her stunned.

Then she added, "I know how that sounds."

"You should have led with that."

"What? You just believe me?" Daisy asked as she raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Yep. I have seen a lot of weird things. I run Area 51. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff I saw in my SSR days. Well then again maybe you would." Sousa said.

Daisy blinked.

"That's not the response I was expecting."

"Life is full of surprises." Sousa shrugged. "So I take it you didn't go back in time to make sure Hydra doesn't take hold."

She gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry. I'm trying to preserve the timeline as much as I can."

"Those infiltrators weren't Hydra?" Sousa asked.

"They were space robots called Chromicoms who are trying to mess with the timeline to ensure their take over of earth in the future." Daisy explained as clearly as she could.

He looked at her for a moment before nodding.

"Well, that's not good. So are there really more out there?" Sousa asked.

"Yes." She answered, surprised at how well he was taking the information.

"Do you know how to find them?" He asked concerned.

"Not quite. I think if I can figure it out if I get a good look at their hardware. 

"How can I help?" 

Daisy was completely thrown by how easily he believed her and how willing he was to help. Was this guy for real? She might as well use what help she could take. 

"You can give me access to the Chromicoms. I can maybe track the others through the ones you have."

"Consider it done. Now about Hydra. Are they...?"

Daisy grimaced. She would love to help him with his Hydra investigation. It really sucked. It was looking more clear that he died since he got close to discovering the truth about Hydra. She would love nothing more then to tell him all she knew about Hydra and change that terrible thing about history. Sadly, Mack's voice was in her head telling her _ripples not waves_. She looked at him with pure sympathy.

"I'm sorry but I can't tell you anything about your future. My director told me 'ripples not waves', which means I can't confirm or deny that Hydra has infiltrated Shield."

"So you were lying about Mallick?" Sousa asked her while raising his voice in exasperation.

"I was trying to stop you from discussing this with Peggy Carter. I don't want to break the timeline. You get it?" She explained, hoping that he would see it her way. 

Daisy hated that she couldn't tell him what scum Mallick was. But if she did that she might as well tell him everything, and she couldn't do that. 

Sousa took a large intake of breath before saying, "Yeah. I get it." Then he took his walkie-talkie and spoke into it, "Agent Smith report to the West Lab pronto."

Daisy gave him a questioning look.

"He's one of our top tech scientists. He worked with Howard Stark until he couldn't take it anymore. Howard's an acquired taste." He informed her before seeming to realize something and quickly added, "Oh sorry. Howard's the head of the scientific division of Shield."

"I know who he is. That's all I'll say about that."

"Right. The future information. Ripples not waves. I got it."

"Good." She gave him an appreciative smile. Daniel Sousa was making this a lot easier then she would've thought. She really admired him for that.

Daisy suddenly was hit with a twinge of guilt. Could she really continue to work with this man knowing that he was supposed to die? She wasn't so sure, but she had to complete her mission and make sure the Chromicoms didn't change the timeline. That was the most important thing. Saving the world had to come first. Right?

Then Sousa opened the door for her. "After you. Maybe we can find something on these Chromicons that will lead us to the rest."

"Thanks for the help." Daisy said.

Sousa nodded with a smile and said,

"Of course."

****

As they walked in the hallway Daisy turned to Sousa.

"Look. You need to make sure that your scientists forgets any knew information they find here. Make sure they don't keep any records of it. The last thing we need is future technology to be created earlier making a terrible weapon or something." She informed him.

He nodded. "I will. I know all about out of this world technology in the wrong hands. " 

"Good." She said, looking ahead.

"Is something wrong?" Sousa asked her with concern.

Why did he have to be so perceptive?

"Besides my whole space robot problem?" She asked in light tone.

His concerned look remained. "Yes."

Daisy sighed. Could she really tell him what was bothering her? He seemed to take her being a Shield agent from the future pretty well, but she didn't think he'd take his own fated death as well.

"It's just difficult working with people in the past and not being able to tell them the future."

That was the closest to the truth she could manage.

He nodded in understanding. "I bet. I'm not sure I could do it."

"You would change time? If you could?" 

"I'm all about saving the world, but it would be difficult knowing if something bad were to happen and just let it happen. For instance I had this friend Jack. He died. If I were to go back before he died I would warn him. But if it meant that worse things were to happen to many others... That's a choice I wouldn't want to make. I don't envy you...but I will help you however I can."

She gawked at him for a long moment. Did he know the truth somehow? How could he be so willing to help her so instantly?

He looked at her, waiting for her to tell him how he can help.

"Well, the best you can do is to let me do the rest on my own. The less you and everyone else know the better...." 

Daisy wished that she didn't have to push him away, but she couldn't allow herself to get attached to him. He was a dead man. She needed to constantly remind herself that he was meant to die. She really didn't need to add another guy she cared about to the ever growing list of people to grieve. So it was better to work alone for now on.

"I get it. Well, I'll leave you to it then. Report when you're done."

"Sure thing Chief." She saluted him.

He chuckled and headed back to his office.

Then she went to the lab.

*****

Daniel busied himself with all of the work he had postponed when Daisy had infiltrated his facility. Then he finally made the phone call he had been putting off.

"Howard." 

"Sousa. Pal! So you've changed your mind!" The billionaire happily exclaimed on the other line.

He vehemently shook his head, even though he knew that his friend couldn't see him. "No. There is no way I am going to a dance club with you."

"Come on, buddy. Don't you think it's time to move on from Peggy? You know the best way to get over someone is to..."

"Don't finish that sentence. That is not why I called. This is business." Daniel said exasperated.

"Come on, you work too hard. You need to play just as hard."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "I need to know if you still have that substance that can destroy anything." 

"I may have held onto it. Wait are you actually going to destroy something?" Howard asked intrigued sounding delighted.

"It's technology that's too dangerous for this world." Daniel said simply. 

"What kind of technology if I took a look at it...?"

"No, that is the last thing that needs to happen. You get it. If you get near it .... we both know how you get." Sousa reminded him, feeling confident he didn't have to give Stark specific examples of when he made things worse.

"Yeah. Yeah. Fine. I'll call Jarvis to get the substance ready. You can meet him at my place in LA." Howard told him dismissively.

"Great." 

"And Sousa."

"Yeah?" Daniel asked hesitantly.

"Chin up. I know that Peggy Carter must be hard to get over. But there is plenty fish in the sea and all that. And I am willing to help you go fishing. Anytime."

"I'm hanging up now."

Sousa hung up. He sighed. He knew Howard meant well in his way, but he didn't have time for that. Especially now, with Agent Johnson right there dealing with space robots. It was really hard to think about trying to go back out there and dating other girls. It wasn't like he met Peggy at a dance club. Dance clubs weren't even his thing, mostly because with a cane who would want to dance with him? And with Peggy dancing was her thing with Steve...

Daniel didn't want to meet anyone new. Part of it might've had something to do with the beautiful, smooth talking Shield agent from the future. It was like she had walked out of a dream when he met her. There was something about her that made every inch of his body light up. He felt some kind of old thrill course through his body. He hadn't felt that way in a long time. He knew nothing could come of it, but it was a nice sensation. It was like she awakened him from a deep sleep. 

Sousa knew they were dealing with more important things going on then any type of attraction he was feeling. They had important world saving things to do so he needed to focus on that.

******

Sousa went to check on Daisy's progress. Daisy was arguing with a scientist.

"Listen. Just hand me the scalpel." Daisy ordered, with one hand on her hip and the other held out expectantly.

"I will do no such thing." Dr. Smith answered, appalled. Then he saw Sousa and informed his boss, "Sir, can you please tell this woman that she does not have the proper clearance or training to...?"

"Thank you for your assistance Dr. Smith, but I will take it from here." Daniel said.

"But Sir?" Dr. Smith asked apalled.

"You can return to your current project now." Sousa told him in a commanding voice.

The scientist did what was ordered and silently left the examination room. 

Daniel then shut the door and turned towards Daisy. "How is it going?" 

"I'll tell you in a second." 

She then picked up the scalpel and cut the Chromicom open. It revealed a strange machinery that he had never even dreamed of seeing before. 

"Wow." He let out in awe.

Daisy looked at all of the shiny machinery and muttered, "I miss Fitz and Simmons"

He looked back up at her. "Who's Fitz and Simmons?"

"Fitz was the Engineer on my team and Simmons was the biologist."

"So you are on this time traveling mission on a team?" Sousa asked intrigued.

"I was...they...uh...kind of accidentally left me behind." Daisy explained, still looking at the inner working of the Chromicom.

"So you are on this super important time travel mission on your own." He stated, feeling for her. He knew what it felt like to work on a mission alone.

"Not entirely alone. One of my teammates were also left behind. But he got left in New York." 

"That is a ways but I can have a Shield agent contact him if you want." Sousa offered.

This made her turn her head back up toward him. "No need to involve any more Shield agents."

"It wouldn't be a problem. This kind of thing is what Shield does." He reminded her. 

She shook her head. "It's best not to involve anyone. I don't want to risk the timeline. I should figure out the tracker and be on my way. You already know too much." 

"Yeah. I get it. So, once you have their location you'll leave." Daniel told her in understanding, hoping he didn't sound as disappointed as he felt. 

"After I get rid of their bodies. I don't want anyone to get their hands on them to change the future." 

"I got that covered. Howard has created this substance that can destroy any material. It should work on these space robots. I will deliver them myself and use the substance on them."

Her eyes ever so slightly widened in alarm. "You're going to let Howard Stark see future technology? That's not a great idea." 

"I agree with you, it's a terrible idea. That's why I'm not letting him near it. His butler Jarvis will be there. He'll help me." Sousa informed her.

"Jarvis? Huh?" Daisy asked with a playful smile on her face. 

"You recognize the name?" He asked curious.

"I can't confirm or deny that."

"Right." 

She then gave him a serious look. "But I can't let someone else see this. It's bad enough you've seen it. Why don't you tell me where this substance is and I will do it myself?" 

"Because Jarvis wouldn't allow it. He will fight you. He doesn't do well with trespassers. Especially trespassers who try to steal Howard's inventions." 

"I can take care of myself." Daisy reminded him.

Sousa didn't need reminding. The image of her taking on all of those scientists at once was something he wouldn't forget. Giving the new information that they turned out to be space robots made her even more impressive.

He then let out a light chuckle. "Oh. I know. I don't want you to hurt _Jarvis_. He's a friend." 

Daisy took a moment to think about it. 

"Fine, then I guess you can take me there." 

"Will do. I will just call Jarvis to let him know we're coming." He told her, trying not to let his delight of her sticking around a little while more show.

"Right. Well, I'll work on these then." She then looked back down at the opened up Chromicom.

"Do you need anything to assist you? Like any equipment or...?" Sousa asked. 

She vehemently shook her head. "No more scientists. That just isn't going to work." 

"Of course." He agreed.

"Thanks for the help, but I got this from here." 

He nodded. "Just meet me in my office when you're done."

"Will do Chief." Was Daisy's quick reply as she focused on the alien body. 

He smiled at her in amusement, looking at her for a moment, and then turned to leave.

Daniel needed to remind himself that she was as good as gone. Once they destroyed these Chromicoms, then she'd be gone and he was never going to see her again. Which was for the best. He didn't want to be the reason why the timeline would change for the worst. He just wished it didn't have to be that way.


	2. Distance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy and Sousa journey to LA to meet Jarvis. They have to make a stop first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kudos and likes. I appreciate it! It helped motivate me to continue with this! 😀
> 
> Here's my playlist I created for this fic: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4zQEzlx9woOyng03UBS5DH?si=ILkNZoS5RlO3CSBleSAliA
> 
> All of the songs aren't just Dousy songs some songs are angsty Peggysous.

* * *

Daisy was able to extract a location from the tracker the Chromicom had embedded in it's mainframe, which basically worked like a computer. She helped Sousa load them in his truck. It took a little maneuvering all of the bodies just the two of them, but they managed. Daisy couldn't risk any of his employees seeing an open up Chromicom. Preserving the timeline was much more difficult than she thought. She kept on telling herself _ripples_ not _waves_. She said it like a mantra in her head. Sousa helped her lift the Chromicoms in the truck and securing them without complaint. She could tell when he carried the Chromicom, it caused him pain in his leg. He winced in pain but he didn't let it stop him, he kept on helping. She couldn't help but admire him even more for his perseverance.

"So how far is Jarvis?" Daisy asked.

"He's in LA. We'll stop at a safe house first. Don't worry, it's secure." Sousa informed her.

That did not ease her worries. It only prolonged her to spend more time with him. It meant more chances for her to slip up and tell him something about the future or tell him the thing that has been gnawing at her to tell him. She knew if she warned him about his death the consequences could be dire.

He looked at her concerned and asked, "Is that alright with you?"

"What?" She asked a little distracted.

"For us to stay the night at a Safe House. Don't worry there are two rooms. I know we haven't known each other that long but circumstances ..." He stammered as he began to rub his neck nervously.

"It's fine Sousa. It's not a problem for me."  
Daisy reassured him.

"Good. Then what's the problem?" Sousa asked.

"Oh, it's kind of a long time to spend together." Daisy said.

"So you don't want to spend time with me?"  
Sousa asked.

"It's not about what I want. I'm worried about the timeline. I'm trying to preserve it and the more time I spend with you the more difficult it will get for me to not tell you the truth." Daisy said not seeing the point in dancing around the truth.

Sousa sighed, "I get that. I suppose I can call Jarvis to meet you so we don't have to make the trip. It will be a lot of waiting on your part but..."

"No. It's okay. I don't mind the trip with you...I...I just will have to keep my future thoughts to myself." Daisy said.

"I'll help in whatever way I can." Sousa said with those deep sincere eyes.

Daisy blinked. That didn't exactly help, him being so helpful, he continued to show her what a stand up guy he was. That didn't make it any easier for her to not tell him about his impending death.

****  
Daniel finalized all of the things he needed to do at Area 51. Including all of the condolence letters for all of his staff that Chromicoms killed. Condolence letters were the worse part of his job, it made it even worse because he always had to lie to family members when he did it. It didn't sit right with him but he knew it would be worse exposing some of these crazy things that actually went on. Cover up was a big part of his job. Those were some of the things he had to do for the greater good. His lies protected people, he just never liked doing it.

He finished all of his preparations and headed for the truck. Daisy leaned against it with her arms folded. The sight of her lightened his dark introspective mood. He didn't know why. There was something about her. Maybe he was just using this trip as an excuse to spend more time with her. At least he offered her an alternative. He knew that they had to go their separate ways soon, so he might as well take advantage of the time he had with her. It was tricky since he very much wanted to learn more about her but that seemed improbable with her trying so hard to keep anything about the future from him. That was too bad he would love to know more about the future. He understood though, the greater good is more important. If there was one phrase that defined his life that would be it, "The greater good is more important." It was why him and Peggy broke up officially. It was why he constantly had to lie. It was why he doesn't have any close friendships anymore. His investigation on Hydra hasn't allowed him to trust people enough to form new bonds. And his old bonds he has pushed away. So there's that.

Daisy asked, "Are you ready Chief?"

"Yeah. You could call me Daniel or Sousa." He said.

She pressed her lips together in deep contemplation and said, "Hmmmmm. I like Chief better."

He chuckled, "Okay then. What would you prefer to be called?"

"Daisy." She said.

"Daisy it is, then." He said.

Daisy smiled at that.

"Are you ready to go?" Daniel asked her.

"As ready as I'm going to be. I didn't exactly bring a lot of luggage. I wasn't really expecting to be here for that long." Daisy said.

"Life is full of unexpected things isn't it?" Daniel asked in a playful tone of voice.

She gazed at him, looking him up and down, with a glint in her eyes, and said, "It sure is."

Then he said, "Well, if there isn't anything you need to bring, I guess our journey can begin."

"I guess so."

He offered her his hand. She stared at it for a moment confused at what he was doing. Then he opened the door for her. She gave him her hand and he helped her in the truck. She sat there gawking at him. He wasn't sure why she was staring but he continued to the other side of the truck. He was surprised to see that she had opened the door from the inside for him. He tossed his cane in the back seat of the truck, then he started to pull himself up putting all of the weight on his arm that held his cane. It was his stronger arm. Then she reached out for him and pulled him in. He pulled his prosthetic leg up. He did have the latest version that science had to offer from Howard, but it still dug into his skin sometimes. He usually did not like to drive with passengers. When he drove it put attention to some of the difficulties he still had to go through with his leg. That was when a lot of people would give him a look of pity. He hated that look of pity. When he looked over at Daisy, there was no pity in her eyes. There was admiration.

"What is it?" Daniel asked.

She pointed to the knob on his wheel and the long contraption that connected from the wheel to the gas pedal and brake.

"Did you add that modification?" Daisy asked impressed.

"Yes. Well. It helps since my leg ... it can't push on too much weight. Since...it's not...you see in the war I got..." He stammered.

"Shrapnel in your leg. I know. I read your file." Daisy finished the sentence for him alleviating the awkwardness.

"Of course you did." He said.

"It didn't give specifics. But I'm impressed on how you handle everything. Did you make the modification your self or did Stark make it for you?" Daisy asked intrigued.

"I did it myself but Howard is always bugging me about improvements. It took a lot of convincing me to allow him to make me a prosthetic." He said with annoyance in his voice.

"Why is that?" Daisy asked.

"I've seen the uncanny power some of his inventions had. A lot of them didn't really end well." Sousa said while his face formed into a grimace.

"Ah. I see. Well, regardless it's impressive. My friend Mack would get a kick out of it. He loves tinkering with cars." Daisy said.

"Nice. So there are still cars in the future. Any chance they are all flying cars?" Daniel asked.

Daisy smiled and bit her lip. It seemed like she was debating whether she would reveal something about the future.

"You know I can't tell you about the future." Daisy reminded him

"Yeah. I get it. Well we better get this trip started." He said as he put his seat belt and started the car.

"Yep."

*******  
Daisy looked out the window as they drove through the desert high way of Nevada. Traffic was a lot slower in the 1950's, not to mention the cars. The cars operated noticably slower. It didn't help her nerves. Patience wasn't her strongest quality, although she had learned how to be more patient through the years.

She didn't know how long she would last not telling Sousa about his impending death. His death inspired a lot of Shield agents. She still remembered that first time she saw the wall of remembrance. His star was the first star there. That moment fueled her desire to become a great Shield agent. It made her feel like she was finally a part of something great. Now here she was sitting in the car with the man who inspired shield agents for decades. He was a legend. As she was getting to know him she saw how noble, kind, and thoughtful he was. He was a good leader and an even better man. He was making it harder and harder for her to keep her mouth shut. Maybe there was something they could do. Maybe they could fake his death or something. She sighed.

"Are you alright over there?" Sousa asked.

"It's too quiet." Daisy complained.

The silence left her alone with her conflicting thoughts.

"Oh. You can turn on the radio if you like." Sousa said.

Daisy turned on the radio dial. Then an over the top announcer came on, "Welcome back to the adventures of Captain America! Last time our hero barely got out alive! Will he survive the nefarious schemes of...."

Sousa quickly changed the channel to jazzy music playing.

She looked up over at him and she saw a scowl on his face.

"Do you have something against Captain America?" She asked amused.

He did not seem like the kind of guy you who wouldn't like Captain America.

"No. I never met the guy." He said with an angry edge to his voice, as he kept his eyes focused on the road.

"Hmmm. So what's with the attitude?" Daisy asked.

"I don't have an attitude. I just don't like the show. This is an old radio show. They turned it to a TV show. It's just as bad." Sousa grumbled.

"Yeah. I bet it wasn't very accurate." Daisy chuckled and mused out loud.

"It really isn't." Sousa said annoyed.

"How would you know? I thought you said you never met the guy." Daisy asked.

"I haven't. But I knew people who did." Sousa said as he grabbed on to the wheel tightly.

"Ah. Like Peggy Carter." Daisy guessed.

"Wow. So Peggy and Captain America's relationship is still known in the future. That's great." Sousa said with the sarcasm apparent in his voice.

"Relationship? Oh, I didn't know about that. Just among Shield agents we knew she worked with Captain America and the howling commandos." Daisy said.

"Oh." Sousa said sounding regretful.

"Relationship huh?" Daisy asked.

Then she looked at Sousa, he still had angry lines on his face. She gaped at him in realization.

"Oh my gosh. Did Captain America steal your girl?" Daisy asked.

He said, "She's not an object Daisy. It's not like I owned her."

Daisy smiled at that comment.

"I'm sorry. So he did get with your girlfriend?" Daisy clarified the question amused.

"No. It wasn't like that." Sousa said quickly.

"Then what was it like?" Daisy asked.

"I can't talk about it." Sousa said.

"You can't talk about it or you don't want to." Daisy said.

"Both." Sousa answered.

Daisy saw that the conversation was getting to him and that apparently Captain America was a sore subject for him.

"You know if you talk about it, you might feel better. You can't just let that anger simmer inside you, it might explode." Daisy suggested.

"I'm not angry!" He said loudly.

She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Really?"

"Okay fine. I might be a little upset about it. I know I shouldn't be though. It's...I still can't talk about it. It's classified." Sousa said.

"Classified? Really?" Daisy asked.

"If I talked about it I would be revealing secret information I promised I would keep my mouth shut about." Sousa explained.

"Ah. That's too bad. Well whatever the situation was. It was her loss. You are a catch. I'm sure girls are lining up to get a chance with you." Daisy said encouraging.

It boggled her mind how someone could reject a guy like Daniel Sousa. He was like the whole package. Handsome. Charming. Smart. The list could go on and on.

"I haven't really had time for romance lately." Sousa shrugged.

"I get that." Daisy said.

She really didn't like to think about her love life. Or a lack of a love life. Or the reason why she didn't even want to try to have any kind of love life, even if she somehow had time for it.

"I bet you do." Sousa said.

"Yeah. As excuses go busy saving the world is a good one." Daisy pointed out.

"I agree. There is nothing more important than saving the world right?" Sousa said.

"Right." Daisy said.

"I guess the only option for people like us is to find someone you can save the world with." Sousa said his voice getting softer.

Daisy took a breath at that statement. That had a lot of weight for her. The only loves or potential loves she had were all men who she tried to save the world with. They all ended badly. Especially Lincoln. She made the conclusion a while ago that she couldn't allow herself to get so close to someone again. But lately she kind of wished she didn't have to push anyone away who could potentially be something special to her.

She looked at Sousa and the contours of his handsome face. She really wished she didn't have to push him away, but she did. She couldn't even indulge the idea...it would hurt way too much.

"I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong?" Sousa asked the nervousness inflected in his voice.

"No. I just. I think the topic is getting a little...I think I just want to listen to music right now."  
Daisy said.

"Of course."

Daisy turned the volume up and looked out the window willing herself to not look at him. She chanted the mantra repeatedly in her head _ripples_ not _waves_.

****  
They arrived at the safe house. It was an isolated house. It was a quant cabin at the end of a paved road at edge of the woods. Ivy grew around the roof.

"Here it is." Sousa said.

Daisy followed Sousa in. Daisy took the place in.

"It's nice. Cozy." Daisy said.

"It isn't much but it will do for the night." Sousa said.

"Hey. I can pretty much sleep anywhere. There was a point where I was sleeping in a van." Daisy said.

His eyes widened in alarm.

"It's not a big deal." Daisy said.

"You can tell me about it if you want." Sousa said tenderly with understanding.

"It's not a great story." Daisy said as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Try me." Sousa said as he walked closer to her.

"I...I grew up in an orphanage and then went from foster home to foster home until I aged out. I learned how to ....uh... work with computers and I was able to buy the van for cheap. So it became my home base for a while. It was actually not half bad. It was better than some of the homeless shelters I stayed at before. Anyway I never...really had a real home until I joined Shield." Daisy said as she looked around the cabin and purposely avoided his eyes.

Why did she just tell him so much about herself? She felt vulnerable. Was he going to judge her for being homeless? Why did she even care if he judged her? They were going their separate ways soon anyway.

She finally looked at him he was giving her a small smile and said, "I'm glad you finally found a home in Shield. You've been through a lot. It's nice to know I helped build something that gave you a home."

She gazed at him in awe.

His smile was so tender. His brown eyes were filled with so much warmth. She wanted to gaze into them forever.

"Well, I'm glad you did too." She gave him a thankful smile.

Then she thought about it. He really helped build Shield into what she found a family in. If he didn't inspire Coulson would Coulson still be the agent who found her and gave her this home? She didn't know. That reminded her she needed to keep her distance from him.

"So where will I be sleeping?" Daisy asked.

"Right this way." Sousa said.

He opened the door to her room and suddenly some furniture fell out.

They both jumped back so it didn't fall on top of them.

"Are you alright?" Sousa asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine. You?" Daisy asked.

"Yeah. I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting someone to use this as storage." Sousa said.

"It's alright. Is there another room?" Daisy asked.

"Yeah this way." Sousa said.

As he opened the door he sighed in relief at the empty room with a nice size queen bed with a flowery comforter.

"So if you need anything I'll be on the couch in the living room." Sousa said.

Daisy looked at the dusty couch that did not look very comfortable. He looked exhausted. She noticed him leaning on his cane more. His leg must have been bothering him. He needed a good night sleep.

"You can take the bed. Like I told you before I can sleep anywhere." Daisy said.

"So can I. Sleeping on the floor in the barracks makes a guy be able to sleep anywhere as well." Sousa said.

"That may be true but we have a long drive ahead of us and I don't know the way. So you need your sleep." Daisy pointed out.

Sousa sighed deeply.

"I wouldn't feel right about it." Sousa said.

"How would you feel about us sharing the bed?" Daisy asked.

His eyes looked like they were popping out of his head.

"Oh. I uh....I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

"Why would I be uncomfortable? I'm the one who suggested it." Daisy said.

He stared at the bed and blushed and he said, "If you are sure?"

"Unless it makes you uncomfortable? Then I'll just take the couch then." Daisy said.

"I'll be fine." Sousa said.

She smiled a satisfied smile and said, "Good."

He swallowed and then he said, "So there are a change of clothes in the doors and closets. We use this place for opts and just in case people need a place to hide quickly."

"That comes in handy." Daisy said.

"It does. It is an unpredictable line of work." Sousa said.

"Don't I know it." Daisy said.

Then Sousa said, "I'll change in the bathroom."

Then he grabbed a change of clothes himself.

Sousa left Daisy alone as she went through the doors looking for some pajamas. Then it hit her. She invited Daniel Sousa to share a bed with her. What happened to her keeping her distance plan? It was going to be hard to keep her distance when they would be sleeping in such close proximity together. Why did he have to be so damn chivalrous? She supposed she could change her mind and he would sleep on the couch if she asked him. She had gathered that much about him so far. She found a night gown and quickly changed into it. It was a little pink with frilly ruffles for her taste but it would have to do.

Then Sousa entered the room wearing loose pants and a white tank top showing his bare toned arms. She got lost looking at the curves of his muscles. Damn. She noticed his left arm was toned significantly more than his right arm at close inspection. She would like to give it an even closer inspection but she won't because that's not exactly keeping her distance.

"Are you alright?" Sousa asked concerned.

"Yep. All good. So...uh...good night. I'm super tired so I'm going right to sleep." Daisy said as she stretched her arms and exaggerated her yawning.

"Yeah. Me too. Good night."

As Daisy got on her side of the bed she glanced at Sousa, who was picking up the covers and as he did his shirt rid up and she saw some of his stomach muscles. She bit her lip as she gazed at it. She wondered what the rest of his body looked like. She snapped herself out of it. She needed to stop this. She noticed some throw pillows on the couch. She went to get them.

"What are you doing?" Sousa asked.

"I'm making a pillow wall." Daisy said straight to the point.

"A pillow wall?" Sousa asked confused.

"Yeah. A wall of pillows. Duh." Daisy said like it was obvious.

"Why? Do I actually make you uncomfortable? Because I can just go on the couch." He asked as he rubbed his neck.

"No. I just like to sleep free of any distractions." Daisy said frustrated.

"I distract you?" Sousa asked pleasantly surprised.

"Yeah. Anyone would. I usually sleep alone." Daisy said.

"Right." Sousa said.

Then Daisy grabbed a few pillows and began to make the pillow wall. Sousa got a handful of pillows to help her.

"You don't have to do that. I can do it on my own." Daisy said.

"It's faster if we do it together." Sousa pointed out as he dropped the pillow on the middle of the bed and lined them up to match the pillows Daisy lined up.

As they both put a pillow on top of their stack at the same time their hands brushed. Tingles shot up from her finger tips straight to her spine. They looked up at each other and their eyes locked. She gazed deep into the pool of his chocolate brown eyes. She quickly backed away. Who was she anyway? She was acting like a teenager with a crush. She reminded herself she was no teenager. She was a thirty year old shield agent who happened to be a super hero who had learned how to be the epitome of control.

She avoided his gaze and practically jumped to her side of the bed. Then she pulled her covers over her and said, "Good night."

"Night." Sousa said.

Daisy shut her eyes tight trying to will herself to sleep. The sooner she went to sleep, the sooner they could get up and get to this location, destroy the Chromicoms and go their separate ways.

She just needed to stop thinking about him. Easy.

*******

Daniel sat on his side of the bed not daring to look at Daisy's side of the bed. She obviously didn't want to be disturbed. She took pains to make sure they were separated by this pillow wall. He really hoped that he didn't do anything to make her uncomfortable. Even though she denied that he did, the way she raced to her side of the bed told a different story. He hoped she didn't notice his wavering eye when he looked at her and the way her night gown fell over her body. The way her smooth bare arms showed some beauty marks. He didn't want to stare. He hoped he hid it well. Apparently not. Then when their hands brushed he stared deep in her eyes he got lost in the deep pools of her brown eyes. He watched as her wavy hair fell on her face, he almost reached for it to move it away from her eyes. Before he could she backed away and practically flew to her side. He got that message loud and clear. She was willing to share the bed as long as they weren't too close to each other. She was stubborn about him sleeping on the couch but she still wanted to make sure there was a barrier between them.

He didn't know what it was like in the future. He wondered if society got more strict or looser when it came to men and women and what was expected of them when it came to romantic decorum. In the forties he saw there were some more openness when it came to men and women exploring their romantic possibilities before marriage especially during the war. It depended who you talked to. But in this decade it became more and more behind closed doors and secret and seen as immoral and unrespectable to share a bed with a woman before marriage.

His mother raised a son who treated women with respect. That didn't mean he didn't ever share his bed with a woman just because it seemed like society was getting stuffier about it. Just because society said something was right didn't mean it was.

The last time he shared a bed with someone it was with Peggy about six months ago. When ever they had a meeting over Shield it was an unspoken agreement that they would end up in her place or his place and catch up. The last few times they kept on saying it was the last time but then they ended up always being just one more last time. That last time he even considered maybe asking Peggy that perhaps they needed to reevaluate their relationship and try to give it another try. He thought about moving back to New York and working at the Shield office there. But then Steve made a miraculous recovery, so that made him rethink that proposal.

He sighed inwardly. What Daisy must think of him and his pettiness? She saw him get angry about Captain America. He didn't realize just how upset it made him. It's not like he could blame the guy for making a miraculous recovery. It wasn't like him and Peggy were in a committed relationship. They were always so close yet so far. He just wanted Peggy to be happy. There was just something that was off about it. There was something she wasn't telling him. He shook himself out of it.

He just needed to get a nice sleep. At least the pillow wall afforded him the chance to remove his leg without having to do it infront of Daisy. She seemed to admire him and not pity him but that might only go so far. It really was a testament of his bad luck that he ran into this amazing woman from the future. Oh how he wished he could get to know her better. He shook his head as he removed his leg. He needed to focus on the mission, focus on getting some sleep, and then he could focus on the greater good like he always did.

*******

Daniel walked into the dance hall with the red, white, and blue decorations streamers surrounding the walls. He held onto to his cane. People clapped for him. He grimaced. Then suddenly Peggy was there wearing that blue dress, all dolled up.

Her hand was reaching out for him.

"I'm ready for our dance now. Finally." Peggy said.

He reached out to take her hand but then Steve Rogers took her hand and picked her up and swung her around in his arms. Peggy had a wide happy smile filled with joy as she danced.

Daniel looked at them dancing happily. Then he saw Kaminski laughing and patting his hand on his shoulder and said, "I told you pal. No girl would trade in a red, white, blue shield for an aluminum crutch."

He looked down at his wooden cane and it turned into an aluminum crutch.

He frowned.

Then he turned to look back at Kaminski.

Then suddenly a woman punched Kaminski on the face. He fell backwards.

"Well. What an asshole!" Daisy said as Kaminksi ran away nursing his eye.

Daniel looked at Daisy in awe.

"May I cut in?" Daisy asked as she offered her hand to him with the curve of her lips.

"I'm not sure you would want to dance with me." Daniel pointed out as he looked down at his crutch that turned back into the wooden cane.

"Why not?" Daisy asked as she took his cane threw it behind her.

She put his hands within hers and then they began to dance.

He held her in his arms. They danced to the big band music playing in the background. He spun Daisy around and she spun around her back falling to his chest as they he wrapped his arms around her. Then she spun around and he dipped her. He moved his legs like they functioned perfectly well. There was no pain. He moved Daisy close to him and whispered in his ear.

"There is always another war and another battle to fight." Daisy whispered in his ear sending tingles straight to his spine.

"I know." He said.

"It doesn't mean we can't take what we can get." She said as she looked up at him.

He pulled her arms around his neck. He moved her closer to him. He leaned in to kiss her but then the room began to shake...suddenly he was back on the front lines.

The loud noises surrounded him. He felt jolted. He felt the whirling winds of the planes surrounding him. He was being shot at. His infantry was right there miles away. The bomb was about to go off. It was up to him to disarm the bomb. He crawled on the ground so he could get to it.

Then Daisy screamed, "Nooooo! Not you too! You can't die! Everyone does!"

He opened his eyes and he had found himself on the floor with feathers and ripped up pillows everywhere. The wooden dresser fell just beside him.

Was he still in the war? No... this wasn't his usual war time dream. This was real. The room was shaking.

Daisy was on the floor with pillows, feathers, and broken pieces of the bed flying everywhere. Daisy was convulsing.

"Everyone is dying! I killed them!" She yelled at the top of her lungs while her eyes were still closed.

He crawled to her among the shaking room and the whirling wind.

"Daisy!" He shouted.

He used his arms to pull on most of his weight to get to Daisy. He finally reached her. He shook her shoulder.

"Wake up Daisy! We have to get out of here. Something happened."

Her eyes shot open.

Then all of the shaking and the whirl wind stopped. All of the shattered pieces of the bed, the pillows, and the dresser fell to the ground.

She looked around and saw all of the chaos around her.

She reached out to him.

"Oh no. I....I...hurt you." She said with devastation in her voice.

He gaped at her as he inspected every inch of the room and then looked at her horrified face. He gaped at her.

"You did this?" He asked stunned.

"I did. I'm sorry. Look. I'll go. I don't want to cause you anymore pain." She said as started to get up.

Then he held onto her hand.

"I'm not hurt. I was already damaged. That wasn't you. It's just an old injury." He reassured her.

She gaped at him. He had some flecks of tattered wood in his hair. She pulled it out of his hair. She put her hand through his hair and then she stroked her fingers through his hair. The sensation was nice.

She widened her eyes with high concern.

"Are you sure about that? I don't want to hurt you."

He put his arms around her shoulders.

"I'm not hurt. I promise." He reassured her.

"Aren't you scared of me?" She asked.

He shook his head and put his hands through her hair.

"You had a bad dream. It happens." He shrugged like it was no big deal.

Her face was covered with sweat and tears. He just wanted to wipe it all away.

"This is more than just a bad dream. I destroyed the room." She said staring at all of the shattered pieces sprawled across the room.

"Ah. It needed redecorating anyway. You did me a favor." He said with curve to his lips.

She gawked at him.

"Are you for real?" She asked in disbelief.

"Funny. I was going to say the same thing about you." He said.

She gazed into his eyes and caressed his cheek.

"Maybe you should take the couch after all."  
She said.

Daniel looked around and spotted some stray undamaged pillows and blankets.

"Look at that. There were some survivors." He said amused and pleasantly surprised.

He crawled to get the pillows and blankets that came out of the chaos in one piece.

She sat there completely bewildered by him.

"So I'm sleeping on the floor anyway. You can take the couch if you want to."  
He said.

"I'd rather sleep right here with you. If that's alright with you?" She asked him with wide pleading eyes.

He gave her a warm smile.

"It's fine by me. Beds are overated anyway."  
He shrugged.

She laughed a deep beautiful laugh.

Then he put the cover over both of them and she cuddled into his arms. She lied her head against his chest.

"Is this comfortable for you?" She asked as she clung to his chest.

"Very." He said.

She smiled up at him, looking content. He moved a stray hair out of her face. Her contentment made him feel at peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> So the part about the modifications on his truck was inspired from my real life Grampa. He had Polio and he made these modifications on his car that I always thought was a real cool as kid. 
> 
> I wanted to really deal with Sousa's thoughts and feelings on his leg. 
> 
> So I had thoughts on how things went down with Peggysous. While I was amidst writing this I did an Agent Carter Rewatch. It was hard man. But I think I am still able to wrap my mind everything to get back to this fic. So I hope you like it.


	3. Ripples Not Waves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy and Daniel go to Howard's Mansion to destroy the Chromicoms but can they accomplish this without getting caught by his friends?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo this chapter was a beast. I hope you enjoy.

* * *

Daisy woke up in Sousa's arms. Light shined in the room. Sousa slept soundly. He had a smile on his sleeping face. She wondered what he was dreaming about. She couldn't help but smile at his dopey sleepy grin. As she lied on his chest she realized she drooled on his shirt. How embarrassing? She wiped the drool off. She was a mess. Her hair was everywhere. Her face was sticky from sweat and tears. He has seen her in such a vulnerable state. He saw her at her worse. He saw her destruction and his response was to cuddle her. Who was even this guy? Some kind of Disney Prince? He was just too perfect. He had to be way too good to be true. She shrugged. He looked so peaceful. After all of that debate of who gets the comfortable bed, they end up sleeping soundly on the floor in each other's arms. His arms were really comfortable. She loved the feel of his hands on her waist. That spot on his chest was comfortable. Too comfortable. Why did this feel so right? She knew that he was a dead man. They were from two different times. This shouldn't feel so right. But it did. It felt nice and warm. She felt accepted by a guy who barely knew her. He wasn't afraid of her. He didn't run away. He didn't even look at her in horror. He could have been in danger but he wasn't afraid of her. He lied there ready and willing to comfort her. It was unbelievable. It was the morning, she should get up and get ready. She should focus on the mission and remind herself about keeping her distance and getting too attached. But it felt so nice lying here in his arms. She could rest just a little longer. What would the harm be in that? They needed good rest for their journey anyway.

***

She woke up alone. She blinked as she looked around at the destroyed room. Daisy pulled herself up. How did he wake up, without waking her? She usually was a light sleeper. As she stretched she smelled something really good. She followed the smell to the kitchen. The smell of eggs became more distinct as she got closer. There was a smell of something else she couldn't put her finger on. When she arrived in the kitchen she gulped as she saw Sousa's back still wearing his loose pants and white undershirt. She gaped at him for a long moment while he was hunched over cooking eggs. He had the spatula and stirred the eggs in the pan. Music from a record player was roaring through the room and he was singing along and bopping his head back and forth. Daisy smiled and bit her lip trying to hold in her chuckle.

Apparently her laughter was still loud enough for him to hear it because he turned around.

"Oh. Daisy your up. I was just going to wake you up after I finished making breakfast." Sousa said.

"You didn't have to do that." Daisy said.

He shrugged, "Well, we have to eat. It will be good to have a good breakfast before we hit the road. We won't be making any stops until we get to Howard's mansion."

"Right." Daisy said.

Then he put the eggs on the plate.

"Do you like omelets? I could make something else if you prefer?" Sousa asked with anxiety apparent in his voice.

"No. An omelet sounds great. It smells good." Daisy said.

"That is my secret ingredient." Sousa said with pride in his voice.

"Oooo what is it?" Daisy asked.

"I can't indulge top secret information. What kind of spy do you take me for?" He said as he pressed his hand against his heart overdramatically.

Daisy laughed and shook her head at his antics. She liked just sitting here and laughing at his lame joke. She took a bite of the eggs and she made a guttural sound. She hasn't tasted something this good in such a long time. She sunk her teeth into the melted cheese and different spices.

"Mmmmm. Wow that is wow." Daisy said with her mouth full.

Sousa sat down across from her with his plate of omelet.

"I'm glad you like it. It's a family recipe." Sousa said.

"Nice. So that is why it consists of such a top secret ingredient." Daisy teased.

"Exactly. I have been against some fierce enemies but no ones scarier than my Mother." Sousa said.

Daisy smiled at that.

"Oh really. Is she a force to be reckoned with?" Daisy asked.

"Oh yeah. When my Father died she moved us from the farm in Idaho to living in the city in Brooklyn. Where she went from running a farm then to working in a factory, not easy work."

Daisy nodded.

"Sounds like a badass."

His eyebrows furrowed and wrinkle lines formed on his forehead in confusion.

"What did you just call my Mother?" Sousa asked alarmed and offended.

"Sorry it is a slang term in my time it means that your Mom sounds really amazing and tough." Daisy said hoping that cleared it up for him.

"Right. She is. So how did you sleep? I mean...after..." He stammered.

"You mean after I destroyed your room?" Daisy asked trying to make light of it.

He gave her a pensive sensitive look.

"Yeah."

"I slept...better. You? Sleeping on the floor couldn't have been comfortable for you." Daisy said.

"I was plenty comfortable. I haven't been that comfortable in a long time." He said as he looked Daisy straight in the eyes.

Daisy looked away to avoid getting lost in his eyes.

She concentrated on eating the rest of the omelet. They sat there in silence as they finished their breakfast. Sousa had made orange juice as well. When she drank the orange juice she couldn't help but look at Sousa who she caught looking at her as well. He quickly moved his gaze back to his food.

"Soooo what is the plan Chief?" Daisy asked.

"Well you can take a shower if you want and we can leave in a couple of hours." Sousa said.

"Oh yeah. Great." Daisy said.

She supposed they had to get back to the mission. She had an urge to stay a little longer but what good would that do? She had an important mission to do. Soon Sousa's part in this mission would be over with. She would have to say goodbye to him. Not only that but she knew that his next mission would be his last. She was so tempted to make some excuse to prolong their stay there. If she were to distract him somehow maybe she could prevent his death. She pursed her lips together thinking about what kind of distracting she could use.

"Is everything alright?" Sousa asked.

"Oh yeah. I was just wondering if you ever...ran out on your mission before?" Daisy asked.

"Do you think I'm the kind of person to do that?" He asked in a disapproving voice.

"No. I didn't really." Daisy said a little disappointed.

He sighed.

"Well, I would never abandon my mission unless I discovered that someone needed my help or if the mission was a bad mission." Sousa explained.

"What qualifies as a bad mission?" Daisy asked.

"If my Superior turned out to be crooked or if the mission meant innocents could be hurt. There was a time or two I deterred from the mission on principle or for the greater good." Sousa mused out loud.

Daisy gazed up at him with wide eyes gawking at him. She pursed her lips. She looked at his lips. She wanted to kiss him so badly. That was a terrible idea. She knew. She got up and was about to leave but then Sousa said, "Daisy."

She turned around to face him.

"Yeah?"she asked.

"Is there a reason why you are asking me this?" Sousa asked.

"I...ugh...just....don't want this part of our mission to be over with." Daisy said shocked that those words were pouring out of her.

He gazed at her for a long tense moment and then asked,"This part of the mission as in...?"

"Us spending time together." She said in a small voice.

He moved closer to her.

"I am all about completing the mission, and always thinking about the greater good but I am not opposed to taking moments where you can to...uh...enjoy life."

Daisy's eyes widened at him.

Then she asked, "What do you mean by that?"

He then cupped her cheek in his and kissed her. Surprised, Daisy backed away slightly, her mouth dropped open in shock. Sousa looked at her concerned. Then she put her hands in his hair and kissed him back with vibrancy. She pulled him in closer and the kiss became more urgent. He responded in kind. Their kiss grew deeper as she widened her mouth for more access. Any coherent thoughts she had before completely fell out of her head. Everything went into a blurry haze. She thought of nothing but how good his lips felt caressing hers. She felt his hand traveling down her hip, the flimsy fabric of the night gown not stopping her from shivering at his touch. Then they parted for air and he said, "I meant that."

She blinked realizing he was responding to her question she asked him. That made her start to get out of the haze. He was about to kiss her again but then she put her hand on his chest pushing him away slightly.

He frowned for a second and said , "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"No. I...I...want this." Daisy said.

He gave her the biggest smile at that.

She bit her lip.

She wanted this so much. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to take him right there on the kitchen table, if she were being honest with herself. But her reasonable thoughts were starting to come out there in full force. The terrible truth was that he was meant to die. If they were to sleep together it would make it even harder not to tell him the truth.

But who was she kidding? No matter what happened next she couldn't just let him walk into his death.

Then she said, "There is something I need to tell you."

He looked at her with sincerity and concern and asked, "What is it?"

"It's about your future." Daisy said feeling desperate.

"I thought you said you can't tell me about the future." He said confused.

"I...I have to tell you. I can't do this anymore. I can't sit here and not tell you. You need to know." Daisy said feeling overwhelmed.

He looked at her as he inspected all of the expressions on her face. He seemed to be thoughtfully weighing his options.

Then he asked, "Would telling me help the greater good?"

Daisy sighed loudly in frustration and she said, "I don't know. It's impossible to know what the consequences would be."

He huffed out and pulled his hand through his disheveled hair.

"Daisy I know this must be hard. I am sorry if I made it harder for you." Sousa said.

Daisy looked at him for a minute.

"I...you're right. I need to stick to the mission. I...I need to ensure the timeline is intact. I need to make sure I make ripples not waves. It's for the greater good." She said feeling so hallow.

"I understand that." Sousa said.

Daisy said frustrated, "I know you do. Do you know how annoying that is?"

"What is annoying?" Sousa asked furrowing his eyebrows.

"How understanding and perfect you are. It doesn't help at all!" She yelled.

He gave her a sheepish shrug.

"I'm sorry. Truly Daisy. I...just want to help you. I'm sorry I..."

She interrupted him and said, "Yeah. Yeah. I get it. You are super wonderful and helpful and blah blah blah."

Then she moved her hand mimicking talking. She could tell Sousa was holding in his laughter. That upset her even further. He was going to die and she couldn't tell him because he was too damn perfect.

Then she said, "We better get ready to go so we can get out of here soon."

"Right of course." Sousa said.

Then Daisy said, "And Sousa."

"Yeah?"

"We need to keep this professional. So no more personal stories about yourself and I definitely won't tell you any more about my life. And definitely no more kisses." Daisy said in stern voice.

"Yeah. I uh....I got that." Sousa said as he rubbed his neck with a blush rising on his cheeks.

"Good." Daisy said while she wasn't looking him in the eye.

She then stomped out of there.

****  
Daniel didn't know what he was doing. What was he thinking? Well, it was apparent that there wasn't much thinking involved. He knew the facts. Daisy was from the future. They could not start some whirl wind romance. When he kissed Daisy all of those logical thoughts went out the window. He sighed inwardly as he got dressed in his suit. He needed to prepare himself to be professional around her. He needed to get it together. He was a professional. He had dealt with so much as an SSR Agent and then a Shield Agent. He could do this. It didn't matter that Daisy made everything seem brighter. It didn't matter that he just wanted to know more about her. It didn't matter that she made him feel alive again. He knew the greater good came first. He always put the greater good first. This should be no different. He threw some water on his face and looked himself in the mirror. He could do this. He could just treat it like another mission. It might be challenging but he has handled challenging missions before. He could handle this one too.

He got out of the bathroom to see Daisy sitting on the couch tapping her fingers on her long skirt. She wore a purple business skirt and a button up blouse. It flattered her in all of the right places. She looked beautiful. Stunning really. But he wasn't going to concentrate on that. He would focus on the mission.

"Are you ready?" Daniel asked.

"Yep." Daisy said quickly not looking him in eyes.

"Good." Daniel said.

They went in the truck in silence. They traveled in silence. He concentrated on the road. He tried not to pay attention to the fidgety movements Daisy was doing in the passenger seat. Or the way her blonde hair flew on her shoulders. Or the cute way she moved her hair out of her face. Then she put the radio on to drown out the silence. It worked for a bit.

Then they arrived in LA. Daisy's eyes were glued to the window seeming to take it all in. Things must have changed a lot in the future. He would like to ask her about it but he knew that was out of the question.

"So, we' re almost there." Daniel said.

"Yeah. I can see that." Daisy said simply.

"So I think I should warn you about Jarvis. He is a bit...strange but a good guy. He is very loyal to Stark and very protective over his inventions. So he might give you some trouble." Daniel said.

"I could handle him." Daisy said.

"I am sure you can but he is a friend so I would appreciate it if you would treat the situation with sensitivity." Daniel said.

"Will do Chief." Daisy said.

When he arrived at Howards Stark's massive driveway he was not expecting to see the blue Ford there. He knew whose car that was. It was Jason Wilkes car. Why was he here? Especially since Howard wasn't here.He supposed he could be visiting Jarvis and Anna but it was a little coincidental.

"Something is up." Daniel mused out loud.

"What is it?" Daisy asked on high alert.

"It's Agent Wilkes. He's here. He's the head of the West Coast Science Department of Shield."

"Is it out of character for him to be here?" Daisy asked.

Sousa said, "He is usually too focused on his work just to pop in, in the middle of the day."

"Ah. Do you think he knows about our visit?" Daisy asked.

"I would say so." Daniel said.

"Well, we got to find a way to get rid of him. Another scientist can't see the Chromicoms. That could definitely cause waves." Daisy warned.

"I know. I'll take care of it." Daniel reassured her.

He knocked on the door. They waited for a moment and then Jarvis opened the door. He looked distracted and a bit exasperated.

"Oh. Agent Sousa you have arrived. Good good. Oh who is this?" Jarvis asked as he noticed Daisy.

Then he asked, "Did you bring your own scientist to handle the substance?"

"Yes. Jarvis this is Agent Daisy Johnson she will be assisting me so if you will show me the substance we'll get started." Daniel said with authority in his voice.

"Of course. I will inform Agent Wilkes that you arrived. Howard called him to assist you." Jarvis said.

"I won't be needing any assistance. You can tell him his services aren't required." Daniel said.

"Perhaps, you can tell him yourself. He's been a bit peeved at me as of late." Jarvis said looking sheepish.

"Oh. Yeah. Okay. Is he in Stark's lab?" Daniel asked a bit taken aback.

"Indeed." Jarvis said.

Daisy followed Daniel into the lab.

The lab looked like a disaster. Then he found Wilkes at the center of it hunched over a box. He put things in the box.

"Yes. This is mine. And this one we invented together but I'm keeping it. Bastard." Wilkes muttered to himself loudly.

He noticed what Wilkes was doing.

"Agent Wilkes!" He yelled to get his attention.

"Hi there Chief Sousa. Give me a minute I'm just taking all of my stuff back." He said and then he noticed Daisy.

"Who is this?" Wilkes asked.

Then he moved his box away to make sure it was out of sight so Daisy couldn't see it.

"This is Agent Daisy Johnson. Daisy this Agent Jason Wilkes. Agent Johnson is a scientist I brought to assist me with the substance." Daniel introduced them both.

Wilkes went closer to shake Daisy's hand. Daisy shook his hand back.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." He said giving her a charming smile.

"You as well Agent Wilkes." Daisy said as she smiled at him.

Daniel noticed that and he didn't appreciate it.

"Did Stark call you in?" Daniel asked.

Wilkes huffed exasperated like he was remembering the conversation with annoyance.

"Yes. He did. I figured since he's been at the East coast he would be less inclined to call me in for secret off the books projects."  
Wilkes said his annoyance obvious in his voice.

"That is on me." Daniel said.

"Are you actually defending Howard Stark?" He asked as he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"No. I'm just taking responsibility for my own secret off the books project. I do not want to take any Shield agents on this. I know you are very busy. I didn't mean to pull you off of your current duties." Daniel said.

"See. So this is on Stark not you." Wilkes reiterated.

"Whatever it is. I can handle this." Daniel said.

He looked at Daisy.

"So Agent Johnson. What is your expertise?" Wilkes asked.

"My expertise?" Daisy echoed him.

"You are the scientist who is going to handle the volatile substance. What is your scientific field of expertise?" Wilkes asked.

"Oh. I am in Biotechnology." Daisy answered.

"Oh and what are your equations of choice?" Wilkes asked her like he was interrogating her.

"Oh riggght. It's very new and um experimental." Daisy said.

"Experimental? So what exactly are you experimenting with?" Wilkes asked with suspicion.

"Wilkes. You can trust me on this. She is okay." Daniel said.

"She may be okay but she definitely is not a scientist." Wilkes said.

"Fine. You are right but there is a good reason why we need to do this alone." Daniel said sincerely.

Wilkes folded his arms stubbornly and asked, "And that is?"

"I can't tell you. You are just going to have to trust me." Daniel said.

"I trust you. I just...I can't let someone who doesn't know how to handle such a destructive substance get their hands on this. Even the slightest miscalculation could cause a catastrophe." Wilkes said frantic.

"I have handled it before." Daniel reminded him.

Wilkes shrugged and looked around the room awkwardly.

"Wilkes. What is it?" Daniel asked him in a chiding voice.

"Me and Stark had made modifications." Wilkes said.

"What kind of modifications?" Daniel asked on guard.

"Well it has to be operated at certain temperature levels and frequency and there are equations involved."

Daniel rubbed his temples.

"What is the big deal? I am here. I can do it." Wilkes said.

Daniel looked at Daisy.

"Listen. You can trust him. It looks like we need his assistance." Daniel said.

She looked between them both hesitantly.

"Wilkes would you promise not to repeat what you see that we need to destroy?" Daniel said.

"Of course. You know you can trust me after everything we've been through together." Wilkes said.

"I know." He said and then he looked at Daisy with pleading eyes.

He wanted to help Daisy with her mission but if others could get hurt he had to prevent that. Besides he did trust Wilkes. He would know how to handle the substance. He also would be discrete.

"Okay. Fine. Lets do this thing." Daisy said.

"I'll get the substance ready. Why don't you bring the technology down here?" Wilkes suggested.

"Will do." Daniel said.

As they headed out Daisy said, "Look Sousa I don't want anyone else to see this. It's bad enough this guy is going to see it. Especially since he's a scientist. Scientists are way too curious for their own good. You need to make sure he doesn't try to recreate it or something."

"I will." Daniel said.

"And we need to get this in without anyone else noticing it. Can you distract them?" Daisy asked.

"While you haul 6 robot bodies by yourself?" Daniel asked.

"I'll use my powers." Daisy said.

"Your powers?" Daniel asked intrigued.

"I...can manipulate the vibrations around objects and if I do that to the Chromicoms it can cause them to float around and I can move them to the lab that way."

"You can make them float?" Daniel asked in awe.

"If I can concentrate hard enough. I know what you saw of my power was more chaotic but I'm usually in control. I can do this." Daisy explained.

"Yeah. I believe that." Daniel said not having a doubt about it.

He was tempted to go with her and watch her in action but he had to focus on the mission and not get distracted on how amazing she was.

"Why do you just believe that?" Daisy asked confused.

"How you handled the Chromicoms in the lab." Daniel explained.

"Right. So you'll distract them while I move the Chromicoms in the lab." Daisy reiterated the plan.

"Yeah. What are you going to tell Wilkes?" Daniel asked.

"Right. I don't want him to see my powers. Can you distract him too?" Daisy pleaded with him.

He felt the urge to agree to do anything for her but he pushed that feeling down.

"That may prove to be difficult considering he is busy getting the substance ready." Daniel said.

Daisy tilted her head thinking it over.

"Maybe we could wait until the substance is ready and you could distract all three of them while I move the bodies." Daisy said.

Daniel put his hand on his chin and then said, "I think I have an idea on what to do."

"Oh good. Maybe we should check on his progress." Daisy said.

Then they both went back to the lab.

They found Wilkes pacing back and forth.

"What's the problem?" Daniel asked.

"Where is the device?" Wilkes asked him.

"We will get it in a moment. Is the substance not working?" Daniel asked as he looked at the bowl of large black boiling goo.

"No. It will work." Wilkes reassured him.

"Then what is the problem?" Daniel asked.

"The problem is I'm not sure I can do this without Howard." Wilkes said as he sounded wistful.

"Of course you can." Daniel reassured him.

"How would you know that? Do you have evidence of that?" Wilkes challenged.

"No. Not with the modifications but I've seen you tackle some of the most difficult problems in the world." Daniel reminded him.

"Most of that was with Howard." Wilkes said sounding self deprecating.

"That's not true you haven't worked directly with Howard in years." Daniel reminded him.

He shrugged his shoulders.

"We've been working on off the books projects every now and then for the past few years." Wilkes admitted.

"I see." Daniel said and then he turned to Daisy and said, "Look Daisy can you give us a minute?"

Daisy shrugged and said, "Sure."

She left the lab.

Daniel moved to Wilkes.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Daniel asked.

"What is there to talk about?" Wilkes asked feigning innocence.

"About you and Howard." Daniel said bluntly.

There was no need to not talk about it directly. It was just them. He was his friend.

Wilkes sighed and asked, "What about Howard?"

"The box."

"The box is efficient. It is about time I take all of my stuff back. That way he doesn't have any reminders of me and I don't have any of him." Wilkes said.

"If that's what you want, then what is the problem?" Daniel asked.

He sighed.

"I don't know."

"Maybe you should call him and work it out." Daniel suggested.

"There's no working it out." Wilkes said.

"I'm sorry man." Daniel said.

"It's okay." Wilkes replied.

"Look, I know it might be hard being here but you can do this. You don't need Howard to be a brilliant scientist. You are that all on your own." Daniel said.

He shook his head.

"I know. I know that." He said as he smiled.

He clapped his hands together and then he looked at the substance.

"It looks like it is ready we should get the device." Wilkes said.

"How long do we have?" Daniel asked.

"About an hour." Wilkes said.

"Good. That's plenty of time." Daniel said.

"For what?" Wilkes asked confused.

"For you and Jarvis to make up." Daniel said.

"Couldn't that wait? This is important." Wilkes said.

"So is Jarvis and Anna. They're your friends." Daniel pointed out.

"Friends pfffft." Wilkes complained.

"Come on lets talk to them." Daniel said.

"Ugh. We should concentrate on work first." Wilkes said.

"It will be there. Come on." Daniel said.

Wilkes looked at him suspiciously and asked, "Is there a reason why you are being so adamant about this?"

"Yeah. You can't work properly if you're worried about your fight." Daniel said.

"Fine. I'll apologize. It's not his fault his boss is a twit." Wilkes said.

"That's the spirit." He said as he pat him on the back.

Then they left the lab when they passed Daisy he discretely showed her the okay sign signaling for her to move the Chromicoms in the lab.

***

Daisy didn't take Sousa's smooth exit for granted. She realized this Wilkes guy was smart and could figure her out at any moment. She quickly saw herself out and then she bumped into a woman.

"Oh I'm sorry."

Then she saw a woman with long strawberry blonde hair look at her with a curious look on her face.

"Pardon me. You must be the mysterious new agent Daniel brought. He hasn't had a mission like this in a while. He has been so busy in the past six months. I was surprised he requested Jarvis' help."

"You must be Ana." Daisy said.

"So he has talked about me. How intriguing?" Ana said with a spark in her eyes.

"Yeah. Not much just that your married to Edwin Jarvis." Daisy said.

"Oh and what did he say about my dear husband?" Ana asked.

"Just that he is very protective of Stark's inventions." Daisy said.

"Oh that is true.So what is it that you are doing here?" Ana asked.

"I just...it's top secret. I'm guessing you might understand that." Daisy said.

"I do." Ana said.

"Yes. Well. I must get going on that mission." Daisy said.

"Oh, well. Stark did call requesting for our help. Let me help you." Ana said.

"I'm fine. I need to do my part on my own."

She gave her a sweet smile and said, "Well dear. I insist."

Daisy huffed. She couldn't let this woman see the Chromicoms. Even if she weren't so concerned by making waves on the timeline, she was sure they might get the wrong idea about her moving apparent dead bodies. That might be a little hard to explain.

Then Daisy walked on her way back to the truck and she lifted her leg and banged it against the curb.

"Owe! Owe! My foot." She said as she fell down and holding onto her foot.

"Oh dear. I'll get you an ice pack. You poor thing." Ana said concerned.

Daisy yelped out in pain and said, "Please. Ugh."

Ana ran back into the house.

Daisy watched her go back in. She waited for a moment and then she pulled herself up. She really did bang her foot against the curb for the realism. So it did hurt a bit but she has gone through so much worse. So she walked on it like it was nothing. Then she went to the truck and opened the tarp. She saw all of the Chromicoms still laying there motionless. She took a deep breath and felt the vibrations in the air. She then manipulated the vibrations around the Chromicoms and they all began to float. She looked ahead and saw Ana on her way coming out of the door. She moved them out of sight. She was a lot faster then Daisy expected.

Ana smiled at her with the ice pack in her hand.

Daisy sighed. She caused the Chromicoms to float back in the trunk as she kept them so low so Anna wouldn't see them.

Damn. She needed to get Ana away from here.

"I see you are trying to work through the pain. You know that will only make the injury worse." Ana said sweetly.

Daisy shrugged, "I've had much worse believe me."

"Oh. I believe that. It doesn't mean. I will sit here and let you cause yourself more pain. I don't think so miss. Agent or no agent. In this house we take care of idiot hero types who lack self preservation skills." Ana informed her.

Daisy chuckled and said, "I bet but this isn't like that. I can just put some ice on it. And I'll be fine."

"I don't think so. What you need to do and sit and put pressure on it and not exasperate the injury. Come on. You can lean on my shoulder." Ana said.

Daisy looked at her for a second. She was not going to take no for an answer.

So she gave in and leaned on her shoulder and limped back into the mansion. Ana led her to the living room for her to sit on couch. She found a small couch and moved it so Daisy could rest her leg on it.

"You need to keep your leg elevated." Ana said.

"Oh. Are you a nurse?" Daisy asked.

"No. I'm just no stranger to injuries. I am friends with quite a few heroic idiots." Ana said.

"I see." Daisy said.

She couldn't help but smile.

"Thanks." Daisy said.

"Of course. So Daisy now that we have a moment, perhaps you can tell me about yourself." Ana said.

Daisy sighed.

"I suppose I could do that." Daisy said.

"Where are you from?" Ana asked.

"I grew up in...New York." Daisy answered.

"Ah. What part?"Ana asked.

"Well. I moved around to all parts...since..." Daisy stammered as she looked around the living room.

She noticed the different pictures on the mantles and she saw a picture of Jarvis with his arms around Ana and standing beside them stood Sousa with Peggy Carter smiling like they were so happy. Daisy couldn't help but stare at it. He looked so happy with Peggy Carter. She knew there was something between them but she didn't know the exact details. From what she gathered from his reaction to the Captain America radio show, that it seemed like they were together before the war then she fell for Steve Rogers during the war and left him for Steve Rogers but this told a different story.

Ana followed her eyes.

She gazed at her with a knowing look.

"Is there perhaps something you would like to ask me first?" Ana asked.

"When was this taken?" Daisy asked.

"A few years ago." Ana said.

"Just a few?" Daisy asked.

"Yes. They haven't been a couple for quite some time." Ana said like she was trying to alleviate any worries Daisy had.

"How long were they together?" Daisy asked.

"Maybe that's something you should ask him." Ana said with a small smile.

"Oh. Well. I'm not...we're just...I need to finish my mission and be on my way." Daisy said feeling flustered.

She tried to compose herself. She needed to get back on task. May and Coulson had taught her to use any situation to her advantage. She could not forget about that just because she was thinking about some guy she just met. She could not be distracted by him. His personal life and his past romances was none of her business. She had to focus on the mission. And she didn't need to spill everything to this perfect stranger.

"Hmmm. Well it looks like you might have to sit and smell the roses. Maybe look around while you wait." Ana suggested.

"Yeah. Maybe your right. I don't want to impose or anything but maybe I could use some tea or something." Daisy said.

Ana slapped her hands together and said, "Oh what a host I've been. Of course. I'll fetch us some tea and we can get better acquainted."

"I look forward to it." Daisy said.

Then Ana walked out of the living room with a bit of a flourish.

Daisy waited for her to get out of sight then she quickly went towards the window. She realized if she left to go directly to the truck Ana would find her pretty quickly and she would be caught. She opened the window and looked out at the truck. This was going to be tricky but she had been in trickier situations before. So she felt all of the vibrations in the air. The truck began to shake a bit. She focused her quaking so she wouldn't quake Sousa's truck. It shook slightly but then she was able to concentrate on the vibrations surrounding the tarp causing it to raise up and then she was able to focus on the vibrations by the Chromicoms. She raised her hands and was able to lift one body and another one and pretty soon she was able to get all six Chromicoms floating again.

She looked around the grounds to make sure there wasn't any onlookers. Then she caused them to float closer to the mansion. She then walked in the hallway. Her foot pinched a little but it wasn't too bad. She looked around to make sure the coast was clear. Then she went to open the door. She saw that the door to the lab wasn't too far. So she leaned on the wall while she continued to control the floating Chromicoms.

She then caused the lab door to fly open. Then she saw that Ana was coming with the tea. She flew the door shut and then she quickly went back on her spot on the couch. Acting like she never left while keeping the Chromicoms floating outside but just out of sight.

Ana held a tray of tea and biscuits.

"Would you like some biscuits with your tea?" Ana asked.

"Ugh. Sure that's great." Daisy said.

Ana sat the tray down. Then she looked at the opened window.

"Oh I don't remember opening the window." Ana said.

"I opened it. It was a little stuffy." Daisy quickly responded.

"Ah. Well you should be resting your leg." Ana chided.

"Right." Daisy said trying to sound agreeable.

She still was holding onto the vibrations surrounding the Chromicoms outside.

Ana handed her tea. Daisy picked it up and then took a sip. Then she spilt the tea all over blouse.

"Oh...hot...that's hot." Daisy squeeled.

"Oh my. I'll better get you a towel and you can borrow a blouse." Ana said.

Then she left the living room. She turned back to look at her. She looked hesitant to leave but then she left.

Daisy breathed out and then she used the vibrations to swing the front door open and then she brought all of the Chromicoms floating in. They all floated into the lab. When the last Chromicom floated in she slammed the door shut with the vibrations. Her hands were raised and then she relaxed a little. At least she accomplished that.

She sat down exhausted and she looked at the picture of Sousa. She picked it up. It brought up so many mixed feelings. He wore a sharp suit that helped show his handsome features. He looked good in blue. She also was tugged with envy. She wished she could sit with him and laugh. He seemed to be close with these people. He and Wilkes had an interesting friendship. Wilkes was interesting. Was she reading it wrong or did Wilkes have something going on with Howard Stark? Whatever the situation was, it seemed that they all were close friends. And here she was sneaking around and having him trick them right along side of her. That guilt tugged at her especially since she planned to leave as soon as they destroyed the Chromicoms. She wished she didn't have to. Ana seemed really cool and Wilkes did too in his fun quarky way. She'd like to actually get to know them and see a glimpse into Sousa's life but she didn't have a place in his world. She didn't belong here. She gazed at the picture sadly. He looked so happy here. She wished she could just change things so she could see him happy. He was a good man. He definitely was one of the heroic idiot types with no self preservation skills Ana was referring to. She wanted to save him so badly.

She sighed not being able to forget that kiss. She needed to forget about it. She needed to not think about the feel of it. Or what their second kiss would be like. There couldn't be a second kiss. There shouldn't have been a first kiss in the first place. She was doing a bad job of keeping things professional and pushing thoughts of him away. It made everything so much more difficult. But what could she do about it? Change the timeline and hope for the best. Not likely. This was just another sad chapter in the story of her tragic life.

******

Daniel brought Wilkes to Jarvis, who was working in the kitchen. It looked like he was reorganizing the shelves. He did that when he was nervous.

"Jarvis. What is going on?" Daniel asked bluntly.

"He has been like this all day." Wilkes commented.

"You arriving here on your quest didn't help." Jarvis muttered.

"I'm sorry. If I inconvenienced you, Jarvis but I thought it was time for me to take my stuff back. What is wrong with that?" Wilkes questioned.

"Nothing. I just wish you would call him and he could clear up the misunderstanding." Jarvis said.

Wilkes rolled his eyes and he said, "There is no misunderstanding. He lied to me. Pure and simple."

"There is more to it." Jarvis said.

"I don't want to hear it Jarvis." Wilkes said.

Then Jarvis groaned and he slammed the can food down.

Then he said, "That's it. I quit."

"Really?" Wilkes asked skeptically.

"Really." Jarvis said.

Then Daniel said, "I've heard that before. How about you?"

"At least five times a day." Wilkes said.

"This time. I'm serious. I hate what I constantly have to resort to. I...hate keeping things from my friends." Jarvis said.

"Now we're getting somewhere. What is the big secret?" Daniel asked.

"I can't tell you." Jarvis said.

"Well if you're going to quit, you might as well tell us." Wilkes challenged him light heartedly.

Daniel could tell that Wilkes didn't believe that Jarvis would actually divulge Howard's secrets or quit.

"Yeah. What is the point of quitting over keeping secrets when you are going to continue to keep them?" Daniel asked.

Jarvis breathed out in frustration and said, "Perhaps you are right. Wilkes listen, I really think if you talked to Howard and give him the chance to tell you the truth, the whole situation will be cleared up."

"It will not. It's more then the fact that he lied. I understand the need to keep secrets and lying for the greater good. It is in the job description." Wilkes began to say.

Daniel nodded in agreement.

"But it's not just about that." Wilkes said.

"What's it about then?" Daniel asked.

"The right question is who." Wilkes said.

"Ugh. Did he cheat on you?" Daniel asked.

"No not technically but...he loves someone else." Wilkes said.

"Oh I'm so sorry. Who?" Daniel said trying to convey his sympathy for his friend.

He knew what Howard was like but surprisingly enough it looked like he was actually ready to settle down with Wilkes. They had a nice little relationship going. Even if it was in secret except with their close friends.

"Steve Rogers."

Daniel blinked, "Seriously. But he's with Peggy."

"That doesn't stop him from still being in love with him." Wilkes said as he pouted.

Daniel didn't know how to respond to that. Howard was pretty giddy about Steve being back. He knew that Steve and Howard worked closely together in the war. He always thought it always Steve and Peggy though.

Jarvis grunted.

"Drinks. I think you both need drinks." Jarvis said.

"Not now we still are working." Wilkes said.

"Oh." Jarvis said.

"Where is Ana?" Daniel asked Jarvis.

"Oh interrogating that agent you brought with you." Jarvis said.

"What?" Daniel asked.

There went their plan for him to distract all three of them.

"Come on. You bring a girl home and Ana isn't going to see if she's future Mrs. Sousa material." Jarvis said like it was obvious.

Daniel put his hand in his face.

He groaned.

"She wants you to be happy." Jarvis said.

"I'm fine!" Daniel protested.

"Sure you are. We have noticed how isolated you have become lately." Jarvis said.

He looked at Jarvis and said, "I've been busy with work."

"We know but we have noticed you haven't come over since Steve Rogers returned. We invited you on several occasions." Jarvis said.

"To try to set me up. I'm fine. It's been a long time since me and Peggy were even officially together." Daniel said.

"The key word there is officially." Wilkes said.

Daniel shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't think I didn't notice you grooming a replacement for the LA office to ready your transfer to New York." Wilkes said.

Daniel looked away and said, "Well. It didn't work out. And I really am fine with it."

"Because of this Daisy woman?" Wilkes asked.

Daniel shook his head.

"We're just temporarily working together and we're going on our separate ways."

"That wasn't a denial." Wilkes noted.

Daniel ignored that comment.

"Maybe we should check on Ana." Daniel suggested.

"To make sure she isn't embarrassing you to your girlfriend." Wilkes teased.

Daniel huffed.

"She's not my girlfriend."

****  
They searched for Ana. He tried to act casual and not like their whole plan could fall apart. He was hoping it would be simple and he could just talk to all three of them while Daisy moved the Chromicoms. Maybe he could get Ana away from Daisy and they could still go on with the plan.

Then they found Ana in the living room.

"Oh. No. No you don't." Ana said.

"What?" Daniel asked.

"Daisy is changing." Ana said as she blocked his view of Daisy.

"Oh. Why?" He asked while he made sure he didn't go looking at her and focused on Ana.

"The poor dear has been having quite a day. First she hurts her foot then, she spilled hot tea." Anna said.

"Yeah. I'm quite the klutz." Daisy said.

Then she walked in front of Ana wearing a button up polka dot blouse. It looked good on her. He noticed the first two buttons were undone. He made a point to concentrate on her face.

"But Ana here has been such a dear making sure I rested my foot with ice and getting me towels and letting me borrow her shirt." Daisy said overtly sweet.

Daniel sighed. He realized that Daisy must have done those things to distract Ana so she could move the Chromicoms to the lab. With Ana being so attentive it was likely Daisy didn't have a chance to finish the job.

"Look Ana maybe Daisy should rest here for a while. And we can go to the kitchen for a chat. It's been a while since we caught up on things." Daniel said.

"It's okay. I feel much better now. Besides we better get working on those devices." Daisy said.

Wilkes asked, "Well are you going to bring the devices to the lab?"

"They're already there. Actually." Daisy said as she looked at Daniel.

It was like she was trying to tell him something with her eyes. He got the message. He smiled at her with admiration. It was impressive how she was able to move all of the Chromicoms even with Anna's watchful eye right there.

"Well. We better get going on it then. We only have so much time left."Daniel urged.

"Of course. You know after you're done you should stay for dinner." Ana said warmly.

"Oh no. I really must be on my way after we're done here." Daisy said.

"I insist. We would love to get to know you better besides Jarvis is cooking a roast that is better with company. " Ana said.

Daisy looked at Daniel pleading for his help with her eyes.

"Ana we really must get going." Daniel said.

"Oh you are always so busy. I suppose that is just the way with old friends they just drift apart." Ana said with tears in her eyes.

Oh no. He knew what Ana was doing but he didn't want her to think that he wasn't their friend anymore.

Then he said, "I could go but Daisy has to get going."

"Well lets not doddle going back and forth about it here. Don't you have to get going on the devices. I'll just tell Jarvis to prepare extra plates just in case." Anna said.

Daniel sighed in resignation. He tried. He looked at Daisy apologetic.

Then the three of them went to the lab.

****  
Before they opened the door to the lab Daniel said, "Look Wilkes you remember that you said you will forget about what this device was that we must destroy."

"Of course." Wilkes said.

Daniel took in a deep breath and he said, "I need you to remember that you trust me and I'm trusting you with this."

"Now you got me intrigued and a little worried." Wilkes said.

Daisy said, "Okay this might look a little chaotic. I had to improvise."

After Wilkes opened the door his mouth fell open in shock. The Chromicoms were haphazardly flown all over the lab some on tables and some on the floor.

"You....you...you brought dead bodies here!" Wilkes yelled.

"They're not human they're robots." Daniel said in a calm voice hoping that helped calm Wilkes.

Wilkes leaned in for a closer look. He touched the skin.

"I never seen a robot look so life like." Wilkes said now fascinated as he examined the details.

Then he almost tripped on a Chromicom on the floor. The machinery was opened up with all of the wiring exposed. Wilkes eyes lit up.

"Well, hot dog! Look at that! If I just examined it, I could...." Wilkes snapped his finger excitedly.

"No!" Both Daniel and Daisy said at the same time.

He turned around to look at the both of them and raised his eyebrows.

"Remember your promise." Daniel reminded him.

"But...all of the discoveries....where did you find this?" Wilkes stammered.

"Area 51." Daniel said simply.

"Why are you destroying it?" Wilkes asked.

"It's too dangerous to exist. " Daniel said.

"How?" Wilkes asked.

"I can't tell you." Daniel said.

"You can't or you don't know." Wilkes said as he looked at Daisy suspicious.

Then Daisy spoke up and said, "He knows enough but if more people know, dire consequences could happen."

Then Daniel said, "Look just trust me on this."

Wilkes looked between Daniel, Daisy, and then all of the Chromicoms.

Then he asked, "Sousa can I speak with you for a moment, in private?"

"Look, Wilkes we don't have time to debate..."

"It's okay. I'll just go over here and get the Chromicoms ready." Daisy said as she moved to carry a Chromicom off of the floor.

Daniel watched her for a moment.

Then he and Wilkes moved far away enough so Daisy couldn't hear.

Then Wilkes asked, "Where did you find this girl?"

"Area 51." Daniel answered simply.

"What department?" Wilkes asked.

Daniel exhaled and said, "Communications."

"How long has she worked there?" Wilkes asked.

"Look. Wilkes. We're waisting time." Daniel said.

"If time is so precious then why were you stalling?" Wilkes asked.

Daniel huffed out exasperated.

"Are we going to do this or not?" Daniel asked.

"How do we know we can trust her?" Wilkes asked.

"Look I trust her and if you trust me then trust me that this is something we need to do." Daniel said.

Wilkes looked at Daisy who was getting the Chromicoms ready.

"Are you sure this isn't a Violet situation?" Wilkes asked.

Daniel rolled his eyes.

"No." Daniel said.

"So your not sure." Wilkes said.

"No. I meant it's not a Violet situation. She isn't an enemy spy." Daniel clarified annoyed.

"And how do you know that?" Wilkes asked.

"My gut. I just can tell. I know how that sounds or how it might look..." Daniel started to say when Wilkes interrupted,

"Like you're a smitten kitten and if she told you to jump off of a cliff you'd ask her which cliff." Wilkes said.

"That's not...it's not...look we need to do this and then she will be gone and none of us will see her again." Daniel started to stumble to say and then he became more solemn.

Wilkes examined his face for a bit and then he said, "Ah. So you wish she would stay."

"She can't."

"Hmmm. Well, we should really stop waisting time and do this thing." Wilkes said reinvigorated.

"Thank you."

"Ready boys?" Daisy asked.

Then they both moved towards the Chromicoms. Wilkes got the instruments he needed to use the substance. He handed Daisy and Daniel goggles and gloves and he said, "Alrighty let's get to it."

******

Destroying the Chromicoms surprisingly went rather smoothly. Daisy was glad about it. They all were just cleaning up the silver goo the Chromicoms turned into. She felt a little...unfulfilled. She accomplished her goal but now it meant it was time to leave. She needed to use the tracking device she was able to extract from the Chromicoms at Area 51 to find the rest of the Chromicoms. She needed to do it on her own. Which she was fine with. It was better for her in the long run anyway. She could handle this. She didn't need Sousa to be her knight shinning armor. She needed to be strong and remind herself about not changing the past.

She didn't want to say goodbye to Sousa knowing he would die on his next mission. She had to do the right thing here and think about the big picture. Daniel Sousa was a hero. He was the first fallen Shield Agent. He inspired so many future Shield Agents. She had to remind herself that.

Then Sousa said, "So that seems to be the last of it. Before you go do you need any resources? I could get ..."

"No. It's better that I handle the rest on my own. Completely." Daisy said as she gazed at Sousa.

She tried not to look deep within his eyes but she failed miserably.

He gazed into her eyes and took her hands within his and said, "Then this is goodbye. You better get out of here before Anna manipulates you into staying for dinner."

The feather light touch of his hands within hers spread warmth from her hands to her chest. She did not want to let go.

"Yeah. I better go. So goodbye." She said and she forced her hands to let go of his.

She then turned towards the door. She had to just leave quickly. She should not look back. She needed to look straight ahead.

Then when she turned the door knob she couldn't help but look back. She looked at him and saw his sad pensive eyes looking at her. She shrugged and said, "What the hell? Call it a goodbye."

Then she ran to him, grabbed his collar, and kissed him.

He stilled for a moment shocked and then he kissed her back. The kiss was electric. She felt so alive and free. It was like she was transported to another place. The taste of his sweet lips against her made her smile. She smiled into the kiss as they kissed for a moment longer. Then they heard a cough.

They turned to see Ana. Ana said, "Sorry to interrupt."

Daisy and Daniel quickly let go of each other to pay attention to Ana.

"I have news. We have more guests for dinner."

"Oh. Who?" Wilkes asked.

"I know it might be a bit awkward but I know we all can be civil." Ana said.

"Who is it?" Sousa asked with dread in his voice.

"Howard, Peggy, and Steve." Anna said.


	4. Damn Tsunami

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy decides to stay because Steve Rogers being back in 1955 is a damn tsunami.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had some technical difficulties and I had to delete the chapter. So hopefully this goes better. Thanks for all of those who kudos and commented!

Daisy gaped at them. Wilkes picked up his box and said, "That's my cue to leave."

Ana gave him sympathetic eyes and she said, "While I understand your need to leave, I feel like I should inform you I made your favorite desert."

She smiled at him overly sweet.

Wilkes grunted.

Then Sousa said, "Well. Actually I better see Daisy out. So....maybe you can distract them while we make our escape."

"My, my, my after all of the massive things you faced I wasn't expecting you two to be cowards, when it came to dealing with your exes." Ana pointed out with her hands on her hips. 

"Wow." Wilkes said.

"Harsh." Sousa said. 

"Come on you both can handle dinner with Steve Rogers." Ana said.

Daisy Blinked. 

"Steve Rogers as in Captain America?" Daisy asked.

"Oh yeah. You can keep a secret I'm assuming. We are keeping his miraculous recovery a secret." Ana said.

Daisy took that information in. How could Steve Rogers be here? 

"Miraculous recovery?" Daisy asked trying to keep her cool. 

"I'm sure you've heard of Captain America and the Super Soldier program." Ana said.

"I have." Daisy said quickly.

"Well I suppose because of the Super Soldier serum it froze his body. Which allowed his body to survive his crash and a decade under water." Ana mused out loud. 

"Right. They found him after a decade." Daisy said taking it all in. That was really different.

Captain America waking up 60 years earlier wasn't just a wave it was a damn tsunami.   
This was bad. This definitely would change the timeline in a big way. Would the Avengers even be a thing without Captain America? She suppose they would still have Iron Man but...wait....if this changed....would it change from Tony Stark even existing? Howard Stark seemed to have some romance going on with this Wilkes guy. And yes they seemed to be exes but she could tell the difference in exes who were through with each other and those who were still mad because they still cared. 

"Are you okay Daisy?" Sousa asked her.

"I..uh..I think ...I uh....will stay actually." Daisy struggled to say as she tried to form some kind of improvised plan on the spot. She needed to meet this Steve Roger's for herself and assess the situation further. 

Sousa gaped at her. He looked at her with a pensive look on his face.

"So you want to stay now that you hear that Steve Roger's is here." He said with envy in his voice.

"Oh no. It's not like that." Daisy tried to reassure him.

"Then what is it like?" He asked pointedly.

Daisy huffed.

"It's about the mission." 

"The mission? What does your mission have to do with Steve Rogers?" Wilkes asked concerned.

Daisy looked at Wilkes unsure on how to respond. 

"Well, it's complicated."

Wilkes blinked.

Then Ana looked between all of them concerned herself.

"That is information that is not very wise to dangle in front of these two. I'm not sure if you have noticed but these two would jump at even the thought of Steve Roger's being the bad guy." Ana explained.

"I don't want Steve Roger's to be a bad guy." Sousa defended.

Wilkes folded his arms and pouted his lips and said, "Speak for yourself." 

Ana stared at Wilkes like a Mother condoning her son for being petty.

He shrugged his shoulders and he said, "His miraculous recovery is a little suspicious."

"I know it is hard to believe but we've seen so much. It's not that far fetched compared to a lot of crazy things we have encountered over the years." Ana said.

"It's not just that. He has been suspicious." Wilkes said.

"How so?" Daisy asked.

"The way he wants to keep everything a big secret. The way he seems to know things he shouldn't." Wilkes pointed out. 

"What kind of things?" Daisy asked.

"Top secret things. Things that haven't even happened yet." Wilkes said.

Daisy's eyes widened at that. 

Then Sousa turned to her and looked at her with concern written all over his face.

"Wait. Do you think he is one of them?" Sousa asked her.

She sighed.

"It's a possibility. Given what I know and what I've been dealing with it makes sense."

"How so?" Wilkes asked.

Daisy sighed. Was she going to tell more people about the future. They seemed like strange out of the world things were the norm for them. If it was as she suspected and Steve Rogers was a Chromicom then the Ripples of more people knowing was nothing compared to the damage to the Timeline that could be done with a Chromicom impersonating Steve freaking Rogers.

"Fine. I...I'm a Time Traveler. I'm a Shield Agent from the future."

They stared at her with widened eyes. Ana gaped at her.

"We have seen a lot...but...that is a lot to believe." Ana said honestly as she gaped at her.

"Yeah. Time Travel theory is complicated. Do you know all of the ion frequencies that would have to operate at the same time, not to mention the Speed of Light and a number of quantitative and qualitative variables that would have to line up for Time Travel to actually work." Wilkes rambled.

Everyone looked at him.

"What? Me and Howard definitely did not try to invent a Time Machine. That would be wrong." Wilkes said with his hands up.

It looked like Sousa was about to respond to that but thought better of it.

"Daisy is telling the truth." Sousa said.

"What did she say to you as proof?" Wilkes asked.

"Uh..."

"Great. Daniel. Are you sure this isn't a Violet situation?" Ana asked him.

"Stop. It's not!" Sousa said frustrated.

"Whose Violet?" Daisy asked.

"Daniel's ex fiance." Ana said.

"An enemy spy." Wilkes said.

Sousa huffed out loud.

"You dated an enemy spy. Ouch. That hurts. I've been there." Daisy said giving warm empathetic eyes.

"Really?" Sousa asked surprised as he looked at her deep within her eyes.

"Yeah. I mean not technically we were just starting when I realized he was Hydra." Daisy said. 

He blinked.

"So Hydra did infiltrate Shield." Sousa said.

"Whoops."

"WHAT?!"Ana and Wilkes yelled at the same time. 

"Damn. My bad. I wasn't supposed to let that slip. People knowing it would really change the timeline and I'm trying to prevent that." Daisy said.

Sousa blinked at her and then Wilkes asked, "Are you saying that Steve Rogers is Hydra?"

"No. Not per say but he very well might be an evil robot from the future working with Hydra." Daisy said.

"What do we do? How do we prove that?"Sousa asked.

"The same way we did at area 51." Daisy said.

"You mean..." Sousa started to say.

"We talk to him." Daisy finished.

"We? Yeah. I don't see how I would be very helpful. I don't even know the guy. I never met him. I couldn't tell you if he was acting different." Sousa said quickly sounding nervous.

Daisy then said, "But you did mention you've heard of him from people who knew him."

"Yep. We've heard lots and lots of exasperating annoying stories of his stupid heroism." Wilkes complained.

She looked at him.

"We could figure it out if he was a robot by talking to him." Daisy said.

"If he was able to fool Peggy he probably was very convincing. That would be hard to prove." Sousa suggested.

"We could do it." Daisy said optimistic.

"We aren't the best people for the job." Sousa said while he pointed to himself and Wilkes.

"And why is that?" Daisy asked. 

"Because of our...history...if we go out there to interrogate Peggy's new boyfriend it will look like we're just jealous." Sousa said frustrated.

"Wait....Wilkes and Peggy?"Daisy asked confused.

"It was a brief flirtation before..."Wilkes started to say.

"You got together with Howard." Daisy finished for him.

Wilkes stared at her and then she put a reassuring hand on his arm and said, "Hey. There's no judgement from me. Just from everything I gathered it sounds like you deserve better." 

He gave her a warm smile. 

"She is right Wilkes maybe it is time for both of us to try to move on. How about we both go to a dance club while they have dinner with them? Daisy can interrogate Rogers while we go. It would really upset Howard since he kept on pestering me about it." Sousa suggested.

"I do like to upset Howard." Wilkes said thinking out loud.

Daisy pursed her lips and said, "Ana was right."

"About?"

"You two are acting like cowards." Daisy accused.

"Hey." Wilkes and Sousa said at the same time. 

"Then prove it. Have dinner with them." Ana said.

Both Sousa and Wilkes sighed.

Then Sousa looked at Daisy with pleading eyes.

"I've been avoiding them for a reason." Sousa admitted.

"And why is that? Do you still love her?" Daisy asked with sad eyes and her voice getting low.

She wanted to kick herself for asking him. It wasn't her business.

"Why do you care? You're leaving after the mission is over." He said with a frown.

"I ...uh..." Daisy said looking around awkwardly.

Then she looked at him square in the eyes and said, "I just want you to be happy."

He gave her a sad smile.

"I appreciate that but...I'm...fine."

"You've been ignoring her for a reason. Maybe it's time for you to face it." Daisy said.

He looked at her.

"I'm not sure I can."

She reached for his hand.

"I can help you."

"How?"

"It depends on what you want."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if you still...want her then I can...I don't know help you make her jealous. Or if you really are over her then I can give you the courage you need to face her or and I don't know get closure or whatever." Daisy said not looking him directly in the eyes.

He gaped at her.

"You'd do that for me." Sousa asked in awe.

"Whatever you need. You have helped me so much I'd be just returning the favor. Besides I'm great at multitasking." Daisy said trying to make light of it.

Sousa chuckled and then gave her a sincere smile.

"I'd appreciate the help." Sousa said.

"So what kind of help do you want?" Daisy asked in a soft voice. 

"I want you....to help me...with...uh...closure." 

"Oh okay. Good." Daisy said as she took his hand within hers.

"Well, this is going to end in disaster. I'm in. I got to see this. It might be torture to see Howard and Steve in the same room together but at least I'll be entertained in the process." Wilkes said.

"Thanks buddy." Sousa said sarcastic.

Wilkes patted him on the shoulder and said, "No problem pal."

"Well, it's not exactly the attitude I had in mind but it's progress. I will tell Jarvis you three are staying." Ana said.

"Great." Daisy, Sousa, and Wilkes said at the same time. 

Daisy bit her lip as she held his hand. This would be fine. They would figure this out together. 

****

Peggy knew this wasn't ideal. A lot about her life hardly was. She had spent most of it trying to make the best of non ideal situations. She was always fighting and clawing her way for something. Whether it was for respect or dignity or for her organization or to do its part in making this complicated topsy turvy world just a little better. Now she was navigating murky territory she never thought she would. She was still reeling from Steve's miraculous return. It was like a dream. She still has to pinch herself sometimes even though it's been months. She dreamed of that moment so many times over the past decade of him returning to her. After all of the struggle and grieving and trying to move on he came back to her, he really brought a whole new meaning to being late. It was so amazing to see him again and after being in a glorious amazing bubble of love and dancing and mind blowing sex reality hit and he told her the truth of how he really came back to her. He didn't miraculously recover from the ice. Or at least that wasn't the whole story. He woke up 70 years in the future and he time traveled to come back to her. And when he told her she was livid. How could he not tell her the truth? He was so happy to see her and told her about so many struggles and he tried so much to move on from the past and when he had the ability to time travel he couldn't help but come back to see her. She threw him out for a few days until he came to her and told her the whole crazy unbelievable terrible truth about the future. He thought he could sit back and retire from saving the world but he couldn't sit back and do nothing when he knew what happens. So he told her about his plan to change it. It was a lot to take in. But Steve was right they needed to change things. He told her how Time Travel works and how there are multiple timelines and they could make this timeline better. They can save so many lives. So that is what they vowed to do. The first life on the list was Daniel Sousa.

But now here she was trying to save Daniel from his impending death. They almost missed it if they didn't overhear Howard making arrangements for Jarvis to assist Daniel in destroying an object then she would never discuss Daniel's mission to Steve and Steve wouldn't think to reveal he is supposed to die. Guilt flooded her in that moment. She got so consumed with Steve she didn't let herself think about Daniel. He was her friend. She cared about him. They had a deep love for each other. If she were being honest with herself, the only reason they were apart was for the greater good. Running Shield was just more important then them finally settling down. The last time they "reunited" she considered maybe trying something to figure it out. But she could never truly put her feelings for him first. The world had to come first. If she was really being honest with herself her feelings for Steve were different. She immediately would put more effort in trying to make it work. It would have devastated her to give up their love for the greater good, like it did when he said goodbye in the plane. So maybe that was the difference. With Daniel she had accepted that their love just had to take back seat to the greater good but with Steve it physically pained her to give up on him. That didn't ease her guilt, it made it worse. If she had just accepted them as friends a long time ago and did not continue to lead him on, then maybe he wouldn't have been ignoring her ever since Steve had made his miraculous recovery. If they didn't happen to overhear Howard, Daniel would have been dead. She had to make this right. She had to save Daniel and ensure that in this timeline he goes onto live a happy life. 

She looked out of the car window with the feeling of determination flowing through her. Then Steve squeezed her hand and asked, "Are you alright?"

Peggy sighed and turned to him and said, "I will be but we better...uh...not act so....in love in front of him. I don't wish to hurt him any further."

Steve let go of her hand and nodded.

"It's going to be okay. We'll change things. We'll save him." Steve assured her.

Peggy gave him a small smile feeling reassured. She knew they would save him. She would make sure that Daniel would survive any incoming attacks but that wouldn't make her guilt go away. She had too push her guilt away and concentrate on warning him. 

Then Howard came out of the car. 

"Alright, buddy are you ready to go in there and be Enemy number 1?" Howard asked in a light hearted manner.

"I can understand why Peggy's ex boyfriend might hate me but you still haven't cleared up why Agent Wilkes hates me." Steve pointed out to Howard.

Howard shrugged and said, "Same reason."

"Agent Wilkes is Peggy's ex as well." Steve guessed still a little confused.

Howard shrugged, "They barely dated. They had a bit of a flirtation when we were first getting to know him...but...no that is not why he hates you." 

"Then why?" Steve asked starting to get frustrated.

Howard was about to say something but then words seemed to escape him. 

"Wow. It must be big if this is the thing to silence Howard Stark." Steve said looking at him shocked. 

Then he turned to Peggy for further clarification. 

"Don't look at me. This is something Howard has to tell you himself." Peggy said and then she gave Howard those knowing eyes urging him to be honest with Steve. 

Howard grabbed his bags and said, " Well, we better get this over with."

"Howard, wait. Please, I need to know what I'm walking into there." Steve urged.

"It won't be that bad. Just awkward." Howard insisted.

"Okay but..." Steve began to say. 

Howard put his bags down and he said, "Fine. Agent Wilkes hates you because he is my Ex and he is under the impression that I am in love with you. It's kind of why we broke up. Happy. Now lets get this mission over with."

Howard then picked up the bags and headed towards the front porch of his mansion. 

Steve stood still in complete shock looking like he was still processing the information. 

Peggy came up to him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder and asked, "You alright there, Darling?"

"Yeah. I...just wasn't expecting.... that." Steve said as he gaped at thin air.

"Howard can be surprisingly full of surprises." Peggy said.

"Yeah. I...uh..."

"You don't have a problem with what he told you do you?" She asked in an accusing voice. 

She loved Steve with all of her heart but if he had a problem with Howard loving her friend Jason, that would be a big problem for her. She had, after all, offered to punch whoever had a problem with their love in the face. It didn't matter if that person turned out to be the love of her life. 

"What? No. I don't...I ...just...and it..." Steve stuttered while rubbing his neck.

Then he asked,

"Is it true? Was Howard in love with me?" 

His eyes were wide with confusion and something else she couldn't quite dicipher.

She took his hand within hers and said, "That is something you need to discuss with Howard. I know it will be an awkward conversation but now that you are in our lives, its best there isn't anything left unsaid."

Steve gaped at her seeming to be thinking about this really hard.

"I guess we will have to. After tonight. I figure tonight will be awkward enough." Steve said. 

Peggy nodded her head and then pursed her lips.

She took a deep breath as the walked onto Howard's porch. 

"Let the awkward dinner commence." Steve said.

Peggy readied herself for whatever came next. 

"It's going to be okay Peg." Steve said giving her a reassuring smile. 

She smiled back at him. 

Then suddenly the door opened with Ana opening it widely. 

"Peggy!" Ana said while she hugged Peggy.

Peggy has grown accustomed to Anna's hugs over the years.

Then she pulled away and gave her a warm smile and asked, "How are you?"

"Good. Good." Ana said.

Then she turned to Steve. 

Steve gave her his hand to shake, "Nice to meet you."

Peggy smiled waiting for Ana to give him one of her hugs even though they haven't met yet. She looked at him with a curious look in her eyes. She stared at his hand and then shook his hand. 

Peggy blinked. She really thought that Ana would greet him with a hug. Since that is what she did with people that she heard about and knew they would be part of their makeshift family. Did she not think that Steve should be included in their group? 

"Well, come in. Come in. Jarvis made a Pot Roast." Ana said.

"Oh, you're going to love Jarvis' Pot Roast." Peggy insisted.

Steve nodded and said, "I'm sure I will."

Ana gave him a long stare and then plastered on her polite smile and said, "Right this way."

They followed Ana into the living room where Daniel was sitting on the couch with a woman holding his hand. Peggy stared at Daniel holding the blonde hair woman's hand. When did Daniel start seeing someone? 

They both stood up at the same time. It was like they were on the same wave length with each other. Who was this woman? 

"Hello. Peggy." He said as he looked her in the eyes. 

He had the same tenderness in them they always did. But she could see the guardedness in them too. It reminded her of how he was with her when she first arrived in Las Angeles. When he tried to move on before he would even admit his feelings for her. 

"Hello Daniel." She said with tenderness in her voice. 

She turned to Steve who seemed to be staring at the woman who was holding hands with Daniel. He had that look on him that he did when he was figuring something out in his head. 

"Hi Peg. What brings you here? I wasn't expecting you to be on this side of the country anytime soon." He said in a clipped voice.

"Well, unexpected things came up." Peggy replied.

"Of course." Daniel said.

Then Peggy asked, "Who is this?"

Daniel was about to speak when the woman went to shake her hand and said, "Nice to meet you! My name is Daisy Johnson."

Surprised she shook her hand. The girl seemed enthusiastic to meet her. 

"Nice to meet you. I'm..."

"Agent Peggy Carter. Oh I know. You're a legend." Daisy said with a giddy smile on her face. 

"Am I now?" Peggy asked.

"Oh. Yeah. Your work in the war with the Howling Commandos is highly praised. It's big talk among my colleagues in sh...the CIA." Daisy explained.

Peggy looked at Daisy suspicious.

"You are from the CIA." Peggy reiterated.

"Yes." Daisy said.

"What are you doing here?" Peggy asked.

Daisy linked arms with Daniel, "Well, Daniel here wanted to finally introduce me to his friends. Didn't you sweetie?"

She turned to him and kissed his cheek. 

Then he blushed, "I sure did sugar plum."

Sugar plum? Seriously. He was acting strange. 

"How did you two meet?" Peggy asked. 

"Oh, we'll get into that super romantic story but first off can you introduce me to the big hero there?" Daisy said as she was pointing to Steve.

"Oh. I apologize we haven't been in the habit of introducing him..."

"Yeah. Yeah. I know. I realize his miraculous recovery is a big secret. I am a CIA agent secrets are my bread and butter." Daisy said smoothly.

Steve then gave Daisy his hand to shake. 

"Nice to meet you Daisy." Steve said.

"Nice to meet you too." She said as she shook his hand as she did she seemed to be looking at every inch of him. 

While Peggy was used to every single girl and some men gawking at the perfect specimen that was the love of her life, the way she did it was a little different. It was like she was inspecting him. Like she was searching for something.

She blinked at Daisy. 

Then Ana came into the living room with a tray of drinks and said, "Dinner will be ready in a moment. How about drinks while we wait?"

"Drinks. Sound wonderful. Thank you. Ana." Peggy said.

Then she looked around the living room and asked, "Where is Howard?"

"He's assisting Jarvis." Ana said.

"Really?" Peggy asked.

"Well. You did tell me he was full of surprises." Steve said.

They all sat down on the couches.

Then Daisy took a sip of her drink amd then asked, "So Steve please tell me about your miraculous recovery."

"Oh. There isn't much to tell." Steve said. 

"Oh? So who discovered you?" Daisy asked.

"I did. But and that is really all there is to it." Peggy said.

"Right." Peggy said.

Then Daniel asked, "How did you know where to find him?"

"I don't think we really need to discuss this right now." Peggy said to Daniel pointedly.

Daniel folded his arms and asked, "Why not?"

"Because we are among company." Peggy said referring to Daisy. 

Then Daniel asked, "So?"

"So. I don't even know her." Peggy said.

"Well. I don't know him. How do I know he can be trusted? I never met him." Daniel said. 

"I trust him so you can trust him." Peggy said as she started to get angry. 

"The same can go for Daisy." Daniel retorted.

"It's not the same. How long could you have possibly known her? For all we know this could be another Violet situation!" Peggy said angry at her self for losing control. 

She was letting Daniel get to her. But how could he question Steve's presence back. After everything they have been through didn't he trust her. They have been navigating this insane world together with all of its twists and turns for ten years. How could he not trust her?

He breathed out and stood up.

"I can't do this. I need some fresh air." Daniel said. 

Daisy gave him a soft reassuring smile and squeezed his hand and said, "Go ahead. I'll stay here."

Daniel squeezed her hand back and he stormed out. 

Peggy watched him leave. Daisy watched him leave with concerned eyes as well. Peggy turned to Daisy.

"How long have you two been together?" Peggy asked.

"Not long." Was Daisy's simple reply as she sipped her drink. 

Peggy had this terrible feeling flow through her. She hated the way her and Daniel talked to each other. This Daisy was really suspicious. She should question her more but she hated leaving things so awful between her and Daniel. They were friends. She would hate to lose their friendship. 

Then she looked at Steve and Steve said, "Go. I'll be fine here."

Peggy put a hand on his arm and squeezed it. She went outside hoping she didn't completely miss Daniel. He was sitting on the Porch swing. 

She sighed in relief to see him there.

"I thought you might have tried to escape this whole place completely."

"I just needed some fresh air." Daniel said.

"Trying to clear your head?" Peggy asked. 

"Yeah. I guess so."

They stood there in silence until they both spoke at the same time,"I'm sorry."

Then they both laughed their tension starting to diminish slightly.

"I overreacted." Peggy said.

"So did I. And you are not the first one to ask me if Daisy wasn't another Violet situation." Daniel said solemnly.

"Oh really?" Peggy asked a little intrigued.

"Yeah. Ana and Wilkes also asked the same thing. And I get it the last time I tried to move on from you so quickly she turned out to be an enemy spy." Daniel said.

"So you are really tired of that accusation." Peggy guessed.

"Very." Daniel said.

"So what makes you so sure that she is not?"

He breathed out loudly.

"I don't have any verifiable proof that she really is who she says she is."

"Have you even done a thorough investigation on her CIA record?" Peggy asked.

"No." Daniel said.

"Why not?" Peggy asked.

"It's a long complicated story." Daniel said.

"You could uncomplicate it for me. You know you always can tell me anything." Peggy urged.

He shrugged his shoulders and said, "That is complicated too." 

She looked at him the guilt flooded through her. 

"I don't want it to be. I want to be friends."

He took in a long intake of breath. Then he looked up at her and said, "That is going to be difficult for me Peg."

"Why?" Peggy asked.

"You know why!" Daniel yelled. 

Then he stood up and he looked up at the sky. 

"I know the last time we saw each other..." Peggy said.

"I was training someone to take over for me. I was planning on moving to New York so we could finally give this a shot." Daniel said.

Peggy sighed, "I'm so sorry Daniel. I didn't know."

"I know."

"But ... My mind was in the same place yours was. I...wanted to think about finally finding a way to make this work, but Steve...." Peggy stumbled as she spoke.

Then Daniel finished her last thought for her. 

"He's the love of your life."

Peggy exhaled and said, "Yes." 

"I get it Peg. I understand but just because I understand doesn't mean we can go back to friendship that we had." Daniel said.

"I suppose I can accept that." Peggy said and then she looked down a frown forming on her face.

"But maybe we can forge a new kind of friendship." Daniel said.

She looked up, a sad smile started to emerge. 

"Yeah. Well. I suppose now is a good time to tell you why I'm here."

"You mean you just don't happen to be in town by happenstance?" He said sarcastic.

"I'm here to take you off your last mission. The one Howard put you on." Peggy explained.

"Why?" Daniel asked.

"New information was presented and it would be better if me and Steve take the mission off of your hands." Peggy said.

His eyes widened at Steve's name. 

"Did Steve have to do with this new reassignment?" Daniel asked on edge.

"Actually. Yes but that is besides the point." Peggy said.

"No. That is the point!" Daniel yelled.

"What? What does that mean?" Peggy asked on high alert.

"It means. I don't think he's real." Daniel said.

"What? What does that even mean?" Peggy asked.

"Has he acted strange to you? Like he's not entirely the same person that you knew?" Daniel asked.

Peggy was about to yell right back at him with how up surd he was being. Steve did come back different though. But it wasn't some nefarious plot like Daniel is impling Steve just was changed. He has been through a lot. 

"No one is the same person they were ten years ago." Peggy said.

"But he was frozen. Shouldn't he be?" Daniel asked.

Peggy bit her lip. She figured she eventually would have to tell him the truth. He always figured it out when secrets were being kept from him. It was what made him so good at his job. 

"That's a good point. Okay Daniel look..." Peggy was about to say.

Then suddenly the door opened and Jarvis poked his head out and said, " Oh there you two are? Are you joining us or did you decide to leave all of the drama the two of you caused in the first place."

Then Peggy said, "Oh come on Jarvis. It can't be that bad."

"Oh yeah. It indeed is that bad. How could you leave me to it?" Jarvis pouted.

"I apologize Jarvis." Peggy said.

"Good. Now get in here before something really disastrous happens, like the food getting cold." Jarvis demanded.

They both laughed and followed Jarvis in. She supposed they could continue this conversation after dinner.

*****  
It took a lot of restraint to not run after Daniel herself. But she had a mission to do and she needed to concentrate on that. If Steve was a Chromicom she had to put a stop to whatever he was doing. Steve looked at Peggy watching her leave. 

Then he looked at Daisy searchingly like he was trying to solve a puzzle. That is the way a lot of Chromicoms look when they are confused by humanity. 

Then Daisy asked, "So tell me Steve how did you and Peggy meet?"

"We worked at the war together." Steve said.

"Oh I see. And was it love at first sight?" Daisy asked.

If Chromicoms didn't understand anything it made sense that love would perplex them. 

"Not exactly." Steve said.

It was a vague neutral answer just like a Chromicom. 

"Oh?"

"How about you and Chief Sousa?" Steve asked.

And now he is trying trip her up by asking her the same question.

"What about us?" Daisy asked.

"How did you meet?" Steve asked.

"I was investigating his facility." Daisy simply answered.

"When was that?" Steve inquired.

"Why does it matter to you?" Daisy asked.

"Peggy seemed concerned." Steve said.

She examined his facial expressions. He had a confused look on his face. It did seem like a Chromicom.

"She seems to be acting like a jealous ex-girlfriend." Daisy said.

"I...don't think..." Steve stammered.

"Are you not worried that your girlfriend still has feelings for her ex?" Daisy asked.

"Why would I be?" Steve asked.

"Because it's natural feelings to have. They used to be together. Not very long ago is what I gather."

"I am not worried about that. I am aware of their history and how recent it has been. I know it is complicated."

Daisy blinked.

Then she asked, "Really? Does that confuse you human emotions?" 

Steve blinked at her.

"Yes. It does."

Daisy took that in. That does sound like something a Chromicom would say. 

Then Steve asked her, "Why are you really here?"

"What do you mean?" Daisy asked.

"Are you on a mission right now?" Steve asked.

She stood up and said, "Yes. I am."

Steve stood up and asked, "What is it?"

"To stop you!" Daisy yelled then she moved her hands up a threw a Quake blast at him.

He stood still standing his ground. The ground around them shook and he still stood unmovable. 

He was as strong as a Chromicom, that was for sure. 

"What are you doing?" He asked through the wind blowing fiercely around him as she enhanced her quaking around him. 

Furniture started to fly around and still he blocked her attack. 

She yelled, "I am stopping you Chromicom!"

"Chromi what?!"

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo this is connected to Endgame in a sort of way. In the sense that Steve travels back in time to see Peggy but in this version he arrives in 1955. And if you are confused by timelines no worries it will be explained.
> 
> ******  
> I wanted to write this fic for a few reasons. 1) I really wanted Daisy to see Sousa in his environment. She got to see him as the Chief just a little bit on the show. I really wanted her to see him as a Chief more and to see more of his life and how he interacts with people during his time. 2) I wanted to explore what Sousa's life was like these years later after Agent Carter more. 3) I wanted to explore what happened to Peggysous. 4) I wanted to explore Sousa's reaction and feelings to the Steggy situation. 
> 
> So hopefully you will enjoy it.


End file.
